State Opening

David Amess: To ask the Leader of the House if he will place in the Library copies of the press briefing pack produced by his Office on the state opening of Parliament on forthcoming legislation; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons does not produce a press briefing pack on the state opening of Parliament. The Downing street Press Office and individual Government Departments do issue press notices on the Queen's Speech. Copies will be placed in the Library. Further information on the Bills contained within it, is available on the Office of the Leader of the House website at www.commonsleader.co.uk, following the state opening of Parliament.

Pedestrian Access

David Amess: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if the Commission will take steps to ensure that pedestrian access to the Palace of Westminster is not periodically impeded by inadequate rainwater drainage on St. Margaret's Street; what recent discussions he has had with Westminster City Council on this issue; what response was received; what representations he has received since July from  (a) hon. Members,  (b) Members of the House of Lords and  (c) members of the public; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: Westminster city council has been contacted about drainage issues on St. Margaret's Street. The matter was referred via their highways defect reporting system and directly by letter. We await a response from Westminster city council.
	The Parliamentary Authorities are aware of the following representations on this issue:
	 (a) None from Members;
	 (b) One from Lord Monson;
	 (c) One from a member of the House staff.

Olympic Games

Michael Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport by what means budgetary control is being maintained on the 2012 Olympic project.

Tessa Jowell: We have well established, formal systems in place to ensure sound budgetary control. Budgets are subject to the approval of the Olympic Board of which I am a member; and expenditure and income are monitored monthly.

Olympic Games

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what arrangement will be made for the funding of potential cost over-runs related to the 2012 Olympics.

Tessa Jowell: Each annual budget will contain a contingency allowance from which cost over-runs will be met.

Abolition of Slavery

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent progress has been made in planning events for 2007 to commemorate the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire; and how much the Government has allocated to supporting such events.

David Lammy: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Brent, South (Ms Butler) on 14 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1222W. Since then English Heritage has announced its programme for 2007, which will include: researching for the first time, connections between the transatlantic slave trade and properties in its care; and reviewing formal description of listed buildings to acknowledge historic links to transatlantic slavery and the abolitionist movement. In Scotland, the Scottish Executive are leading on plans for the bicentenary and they plan to devote a section of the One Scotland website to publicising bicentenary events.
	To date, the Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded funding of over £20 million to 48 slavery-related projects it's new web-feature—http://www.hlf.org.uk/hlf/themes/index.html—provides advice on funding for community groups. Organisations which have recently received funding from HLF for 2007-related projects are:
	Adeoti Arts and Crafts
	Archbishop's Council
	Black British Heritage Ltd
	Bread Youth Project
	British Empire and Commonwealth Museum (BECM)
	Childrens and Parents Alliance
	Connections Northamptonshire and Northamptonshire CC Youth Involvement Team
	Development Education in Dorset
	Leeds West Indian Centre
	Mary Seacole Trust
	ODAC UK
	SCAWADI Sparbrook Caribbean and African Women's Development Initiative
	Splendid Things
	The Equiano Society
	Theatre Royal, Plymouth
	Tyne and Wear Museums

Theatre

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department spent on support for  (a) national,  (b) regional and  (c) local theatre in each of the last five years; and how much she estimates will be spent in each category in each of the next five years.

David Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not fund the arts directly, but through Arts Council England, which is responsible for supporting the arts with public money from Government.
	The following figures provide a breakdown of Arts Council England grant in aid for regularly funded theatre.
	
		
			  £000 
			  Arts Council England region  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 East 2,153 2,844 2,968 3,147 3,254 3,344 
			 East Midlands 3,280 4,295 4,522 4,734 4,825 5,085 
			 London 11,685 14,176 14,941 39,770 41,558 43,032 
			 National(1) 34,095 36,668 39,235 1,045 1,086 1,117 
			 North East 2,092 2,700 2,867 3,148 3,273 3,362 
			 North West 5,619 7,159 7,377 8,159 8,455 8,805 
			 South East 2,722 4,026 4,602 4,572 4,391 2,210 
			 South West 2,680 4,432 4,557 5,200 5,252 5,396 
			 West Midlands 3,101 4,103 4,307 18,373 18,878 19,397 
			 Yorkshire 4,237 5,093 5,312 6,784 7,012 7,215 
			 Total 71,664 85,496 90,688 94,932 97,984 98,963 
			 (1) National expenditure transferred to regional offices in 2005-06. 
		
	
	Within this funding Arts Council England classifies two theatre organisations as national companies.
	
		
			  £000 
			   Royal National Theatre  Royal Shakespeare Company 
			 2002-03 14,297 12,770 
			 2003-04 14,810 13,270 
			 2004-05 16,360 13,604 
			 2005-06 17,261 14,000 
			 2006-07 17,735 14,385 
			 2007-08 18,223 14,780 
		
	
	Arts Council England does not categorise the remaining theatre organisations as 'regional' or 'local', but as 'producing' and 'presenting'.
	Support for organisations receiving regular funding from Arts Council England is set up to 2007-08. Future funding is contingent on the outcome of the current Government Comprehensive Spending Review.

Buses

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to safeguard bus services in areas of low car ownership.

Gillian Merron: Local authorities already provide support for many bus services in areas of low car ownership. It is for individual local authorities to decide which services to support in their area. They should take account of accessibility planning when deciding their criteria for subsidised service support. The Department's Guidance on Accessibility Planning specifically refers to the needs of those without access to a car as one of the factors to be taken into account.
	Total local and central Government support for bus services is estimated to have been £1.8 billion in 2005-06, much of this will have been spent on safeguarding services.
	We are currently taking a long, hard look at a whole range of bus issues to assess whether changes are necessary to improve delivery of our objectives, including those on accessibility and social inclusion.

Departmental Redundancies

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many redundancies there were in his Department in each year since 1997; what the cost of such redundancies was in each such year; how many temporary staff were employed in each such year; and how many staff were seconded by outside organisations to the Department in each such year.

Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport was created in May 2002.
	There have not been any compulsory redundancies during that period. However there have been a small number of voluntary early redundancy/severance schemes.
	Temporary staff are essentially used for short term periods, usually to cover annual leave, sickness, or while managers are seeking a permanent replacement for a post.
	The number of employed in the Central Department for Transport, and its agencies since 2002 is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2006 1,022 
			 2005 1,468 
			 2004 1,087 
			 2003 1,210 
			 2002 1,027 
		
	
	The numbers of inward secondments since 2002 are:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2006 36 
			 2005 49 
			 2004 47 
			 2003 15 
			 2002 9 
		
	
	The Department is committed to trying to avoid compulsory redundancies and to use recruitment controls and voluntary means to achieve any essential reductions in staff numbers.
	Through inward secondments, the Department believes that it benefits from the experience of a secondee (through specialist skills not available within the Department) by gaining a fresh perspective on the operation of its business, and establishing links with individuals who can be useful source of advice to the Department in the future. It also benefits the secondee by providing them with an insight into the operation of government.

Hand Luggage

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether  (a) hair gel,  (b) toothpastes,  (c) lip balm,  (d) water,  (e) liquid cosmetics,  (f) other liquids,  (g) nail clippers,  (h) lighters,  (i) corkscrews and  (j) other sharp items are permitted to be carried within the hand luggage of passengers on flights departing foreign airports for destinations within the UK.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 19 October 2006
	International civil aviation security is framed by the principle of 'host state responsibility', whereby each state is responsible for the security of flights from its territory. It is for the relevant authority in each state to determine what items are prohibited at its airports from being carried in passengers' hand baggage. The International Civil Aviation Organisation offers advice to contracting states in this regard, and the UK and other states are working with ICAO to update that advice. Within the European Union there is a common list of prohibited items which applies at EU airports. This list, available at http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/04/59&format=HTML&aged=0%3Cuage=EN&guiLanguage=en is presently being amended in light of the recent aviation security alert in the UK. It includes pointed or bladed articles capable of causing injury. ICAO's common list of prohibited items also includes pointed or bladed articles capable of causing injury.

IT Projects

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which information technology projects are being undertaken by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies; what the (i) start date, (ii) original planned completion date, (iii) expected completion date, (iv) originally planned costs and (v) estimated costs are of each; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The requested information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The following details relate to the DfT's key IT projects that are monitored centrally.
	
		
			  Dept/ agency  Project name  Start date  Original planned completion date  Expected completion date  Originally planned costs  Estimated costs  Note ref. 
			 DfT Shared Services Programme April 2005 April 2009 April 2009 31 45 1 
			 VOSA Roadside Digital Tachograph January 2001 March 2005 March 2007 9.19 8.95 — 
			 VOSA Commercial Customer Portal January 2004 December 2011 December 2011 9.5 21.72 2 
			 VOSA Operator Annual Test: E-Test Bookings January 2004 December 2011 December 2011 8.4 11.97 3 
			 VOSA Mobile Compliance: providing mobile compliance devices to Enforcement Officers March 2003 December 2004 March 2007 7.91 10.39 4, 5 
			 DVLA Driver Licensing: Drivers Re-engineering Project (DRP) phase 2 August 2003 September 2008 End 2008 1 09 102.9 6, 7 
			 DVLA Smart tachograph project July 2000 May 2002 February 2007 13.2 14.72 — 
			 DVLA Vehicles System Software (VSS) Replatforming January 2005 July 2006 June 2007 8.37 8.42 — 
			 DVLA Tracking Vehicles Through The Trade (TV3T) August 2005 June 2008 October 2008 18.64 18.64 — 
			 DVLA Driver Licence Upgrade (DLUP) July 2004 June 2007 March 2008 21.8 17.04 — 
			 DSA Integrated Register of Driver Trainers (IRDT) October 2003 January 2006 February 2007 1.5 3.5 — 
			 HA Traffic Control Centre: PPP service; providing co-ordinated real time information on traffic conditions across most strategic road network August 2001 August 2011 August 2011 (1)160 (1)160 — 
			 HA Electronic Service Delivery of Abnormal Loads (ESDAL) April 2004 August 2006(2) August 2006(2) (2)8.6 (2)8.97 — 
			   April 2004 July 2008(3) July 2009(3) (3)1.21 (3)1.21 — 
			 (1) Over 10 years.(2) Development.(3) Operation. Notes explaining any variance in planned vs. expected data or divergence from information contained in PQ 2324 03/04:1. The Shared Services programme is currently being replanned, so the estimated costs provided are likely to change in the near future.2. The scope of the portal project has increased since original approval to include new elements such as the adoption of sophisticated data integration and management applications.3. The scope of E-test bookings has increased since original approval to include a multi-channel solution.4. The difference in completion date is due to an increase in project scope to include fixed penalties.5. Original planned costs for Mobile Compliance did not include staff costs however, estimated costs to complete include staff costs from April 2005.6. The previous PQ (2324 03/04) only relates to phase 1. The cost of £37 million with a delivery date of December 2005 was achieved within approved funding. These details have been updated to include phase 2.7. The estimated completion date is currently subject to change pending a current re-scoping exercise.

Low Bridges

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents involving buses striking low bridges occurred in the last three years for which figures are available.

Gillian Merron: The number of personal injury road accidents involving buses striking bridges that occurred in the last three years is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of personal injury road accidents involving a bus( 1)  striking a bridge( 2) : GB 2003-05 
			  Accidents 
			   Fatal  Serious  Slight  All 
			 2003 0 3 8 11 
			 2004 0 2 11 13 
			 2005 1 2 10 13 
			 (1) Buses and coaches equipped to carry 17 or more passengers, regardless of use.(2) Includes accidents where the side or roof of the bus struck the bridge.

MOT

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether provision is made for the compensation of providers of motor vehicle maintenance services for  (a) loss of earnings and  (b) additional costs in circumstances of technical difficulties with the MOT IT system.

Stephen Ladyman: In the event of disruption to the MOT computerisation service, there are currently two business continuity procedures which are available to garages to ensure that they can continue to test vehicles. One militates against a failure of the local garage computer equipment whilst the other militates against a large scale database or telephone outage. There should therefore be very few circumstances under which garages incur either  (a) loss of earnings or  (b) additional costs as a result of technical difficulties with the MOT computerisation system. The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) would however, consider claims for compensation where a garage could demonstrate that it had suffered financially as a result of these business continuity procedures being unavailable.

Northern Ireland Airports

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 31 October 2006 to question 98374, on the security screening at Northern Ireland airports, whether members of the judiciary are included in the category of certain passengers.

Gillian Merron: The Chief Justice (or occupant of the highest judicial office in each country) is included in the category of passengers that are exempt from screening at UK airports however, other members of the judiciary are not included.

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on the level of subsidy to be given to the rail industry during the next control period.

Tom Harris: The Secretary of State will publish a high level output specification (HLOS) in summer 2007. The HLOS will set out the Government's spending and output priorities for the rail industry for the next control period and will inform the Office of Rail Regulation's next review of access charges. The HLOS will include advice on the funds that the Secretary of State has available for spending on rail.

Roads

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the net change in UK carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the road schemes approved through the targeted programme of improvements and local transport plans since 1998;
	(2)  what the estimated effect on annual carbon dioxide emissions is resulting from each road scheme approved by Ministers through the local transport plans since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: The CO2 impacts of road schemes approved through the Targeted Programme of Improvements (TPI) and Local Transport Plans (LTPs) form part of the Department's normal approval processes for major transport schemes.
	The Department's National Transport Model (NTM) has been used to estimate the CO2 impact of road improvements at a national level.
	The road build included in our national modelling is the Highway Agency's (HA) illustrative forward programme of schemes. This includes those schemes since 2000 in the TPI, plus an estimate of schemes that may make their way into the TPI going forward.
	The modelling carried out for the Future of Transport White Paper included this HA illustrative programme, with it adding around 0.15 million tonnes of carbon in 2010, in England. The carbon added from just the current TPI would, therefore, be somewhat less than this, although that from local transport plans might increase it.
	The TPI schemes were also appraised at an individual level. CO2 emission estimates for the HA's motorway and trunk road schemes, in the TPI (which was first launched in 1998) are given where data is currently available. A copy of the table showing this information has been placed in the House of Commons Library. Schemes that have not yet entered into the TPI do not have this information as the proposals are still at an early stage.
	The overall implications for CO2 emissions of LTPs, including roads, should be considered as part of their individual Strategic Environmental Assessments.

Roads

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the latest cost estimates are for road schemes  (a) in the targeted programme of improvements and  (b) approved under (i) the local transport plans and (ii) community infrastructure fund.

Stephen Ladyman: For  (a) Highways Agency schemes in the Targeted Programme of Improvements, I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 24 July 2006,  Official Report, column 746W, to the hon. Member for Brent, South (Ms Butler).
	I have placed information on  (b), the latest cost estimates for road schemes approved under (i) the local transport plans and (ii) community infrastructure fund, in the Libraries of the House.

Roads

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on building new roads in each year since 1979.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer the hon. member to the written answers given on 17 October 2006,  Official Report, columns 1137-38W, and 26 October 2006,  Official Report, columns 2000-01W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Clwyd (Chris Ruane).
	This provided data on government and private funding for transport infrastructure in Great Britain. The expenditure for roads within the tables includes new construction, as well as patching works. The available expenditure data do not, however, identify new road construction as a separate category.

Transport Innovation Fund

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Government's contribution to Crossrail will be funded from the Transport Innovation Fund.

Tom Harris: I refer the hon. Member to the statement that the Secretary of State made on the Transport Innovation Fund on 27 June 2006.

Departmental IT

Mark Hoban: To ask the Solicitor-General which of his Department's databases are  (a) wholly and  (b) partly operated by external organisations or individuals; and which organisations and individuals own those databases.

Mike O'Brien: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has a 10-year public finance initiative partnership with LogicaCMG to modernise information technology in the service. The contract with LogicaCMG covers the provision and support of the hardware and software applications used by the CPS. These include: the CPS Case Management System; the Management Information System; the Witness Management System; and the Payroll, Human Resources and Corporate Information System. The CPS owns the data contained within the databases.
	The Treasury Solicitors Department (TSol) has five databases, each of which is wholly owned and operated by external organisations or individuals. These are: the LION intranet database which is operated by SCISYS Ltd. and contains data owned by TSol which is updated interdepartmentally and managed by the Government Legal Service; the Penserver database, a pensions database containing data owned by TSol which is operated by Paymaster and operated on behalf of TSol and the Cabinet Office; the ePayfact database, a payroll database containing data is owned by TSol and operated by LogicaCMG; the BV (Bona Vacantia) auction website database called URLS.co.uk which is operated by XM London, and contains data which is owned and managed by BV and updated interdepartmentally.
	The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) operates three database systems. The Payroll system is provided externally by LogicaCMG on secure UK sites and contains data owned by the SFO. The SFO's evidence management system, Docman, is an internally operated system containing data owned by the SFO. It is maintained by SunGard Vivista; the SFO's IT services supplier.
	HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) interrogates and utilises databases operated by the Crown Prosecution Service and the Treasury Solicitor's Department, which are both supported by LogicaCMG.

Ministerial Travel

Greg Pope: To ask the Solicitor-General what steps he has taken to offset the carbon dioxide emissions caused by ministerial travel in the Law Officers' Departments.

Mike O'Brien: All central Government ministerial and official air travel is being offset from 1 April 2006. Departmental aviation emissions are calculated on an annual basis and subsequently offset through payments to a central fund. The fund purchases certified emissions reductions credits from energy efficiency and renewable energy projects with sustainable developments benefits, located in developing countries.

Agricultural Support

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent on European support payments to farmers in each of the last five years.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 2 November 2006
	The following table shows payments made through CAP schemes and Rural Development Programmes to farmers in the United Kingdom for the period 2001 to 2005 as recorded in the production and income account of the economic account for agriculture. They exclude payments made through the Over Thirty Month Scheme, compensation for losses due to animal disease and capital transfers. The proportion of EU funding for each scheme is shown in the right hand column.
	
		
			  Direct payments made through CAP schemes and rural development programmes to farmers in the United Kingdom( 1) 
			  £ million 
			   Calendar years  
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005( 2)  EU funding (percentage) 
			  Crop subsidies   
			 Arable Area payments (except set-aside) 827 875 924 901 0 100 
			 Arable Area Payments on set-aside 180 143 177 129 — 100 
			 Other crop subsidies(3) 3 2 3 12 11 100 
			
			  Livestock subsidies  100 
			 Beef Special Premium(4) 241 236 238 266 — 100 
			 Suckler Cow Premium(4) 219 204 208 230 — 100 
			 Slaughter Premium 76 133 136 156 — 100 
			 Extensification Payment Scheme 118 137 145 154 — 100 
			 Beef National Envelope 19 34 34 36 — 100 
			 Scottish Beef Calf Scheme — — — — 20 100 
			 Sheep Annual Premium 181 264 276 300 — 100 
			 Sheep National Envelope — 10 10 17 — 100 
			
			 Dairy subsidies(5) 79 — — 108 — 100 
			
			 Single Payment Scheme — — — — 2375 100 
			
			  Rural Development Programmes:   
			 Less favoured areas support schemes(6) 165 165 163 153 144  
			
			  Agri-environment schemes:   
			 Countryside Stewardship and  Schemes that are part of Rural Development Programmes are partly EU funded. Funding may be up to 50 per cent. depending on the national contribution to the scheme(7). 
			 Arable Stewardship Schemes 43 59 71 104 114 (7)— 
			 Countryside Premium and Rural Stewardship Schemes 9 9 13 11 10 (7)— 
			 Tir Cymen and Tir Gofal 10 13 17 21 24 (7)— 
			 Countryside Management Scheme 1 3 3 6 3 (7)— 
			 Organic Aid and Organic Farming Schemes 18 22 21 14 10 (7)— 
			 Environmentally Sensitive Areas Scheme 70 73 81 82 79 (7)— 
			 Nitrate Sensitive Areas Scheme 2 2 — — — (7)— 
			
			 Other(8) 3 3 4 3 3 (7)— 
			 (1) Shows payments after deduction for modulation where appropriate.(2) Provisional.(3) CAP hops and herbage seeds support; hemp and flax aid; oilseed rape and linseed support; protein crop premium; area aid for nuts; energy crops aid.(4) Includes extensification premium and deseasonalisation premium.(5) Includes agri-monetary compensation; dairy premium and additional dairy premium.(6) Tir Mynydd in Wales, Less Favoured Area Compensatory Allowance Scheme in Northern Ireland, Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme in Scotland and Hill Farm Allowance in England.(7) As shown in the table.(8) Includes Moorland, Habitat and Countryside Access Farming schemes; Entry Level Pilot Scheme.

Basking Sharks

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the number of basking sharks living in British territorial waters.

Ben Bradshaw: The population abundance and density of basking sharks in any sea area of the world is not known. Monitoring of the UK population of basking sharks has largely been based on sightings of sharks feeding on plankton near the sea surface during spring and summer. Three public sighting recording schemes are presently under way in the UK (The Marine Conservation Society Basking Shark Watch; Seaquest South-West and Solway Shark Watch). The MCS scheme has been running for 20 years and it has observed over 24,000 animals.
	Current research (by the Marine Biological Association/Cefas) on basking sharks is using modern satellite telemetry to provide valuable information on movements and behaviour of basking sharks in the north-east Atlantic. Information uncovered to date on the geographical movement of individual sharks suggest that despite making long-distance movements they remain in the vicinity of the continental shelf around the UK, Ireland and northern France. These findings have been consolidated with sightings data from UK charities (MCS, IFAW, Shark Trust, Wildlife Trusts, Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust) as part of a three-year Esmee Fairbairn Foundation-funded grant to MBA. The project is bringing together in a single database all recent data on basking shark distribution and this means that it is now possible to undertake comprehensive analyses of trends.
	Nevertheless, there is no current reliable population estimate for basking sharks in UK (or the European) waters. This is due to the difficulties in relating surface sightings to actual population size. While the broad distribution patterns of basking sharks in UK waters are being uncovered by sightings data, new research using telemetry data suggests there are considerable differences in the density distributions of the animal, with animals 60 times more likely to be at the surface (and thus sighted) in mixed water fronts than stratified water fronts. Genetic research is also under way to determine whether populations of basking sharks are discrete or if there is population mixing between the N-E Atlantic region and elsewhere.

Basking Sharks

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to designate further areas for the protection of basking sharks; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Basking sharks are protected in British territorial waters under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This gives the shark protection out to 12 nautical miles.
	It is difficult to designate specific areas for basking sharks given their mobility in UK waters. This would be more appropriate if we are able to identify areas which are key to these animals' life cycle, such as, important feeding grounds or breeding grounds, or known mating areas that the animal consistently return to. At present, we do not know enough about these animals. A provision is currently being considered as part of the marine bill to designate marine protected areas. This means that, as our scientific knowledge improves we will be able to adapt our approach to the conservation of this species, which may include the designation of marine protected areas if deemed appropriate.

Biofuels

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what funding is available to farmers wishing to diversify into the production of biofuels and biomass crops;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure that farmers are able to take full advantage of the potential of agriculture to produce  (a) biofuels,  (b) biomass and  (c) other alternative sources of energy.

Ian Pearson: As part of our overall strategy for improving sustainability and reducing the impact of climate change, the Government support the use of biomass sources for the generation of heat and electricity. We are aware of the potential of biomass energy for agriculture and we are working closely with farmers and industry to develop markets and promote uptake.
	Defra's Energy Crops Scheme, part of the 2000-06 England Rural Development Programme, provides grants to farmers to establish short rotation coppice (SRC) and miscanthus. The scheme is now closed for applications. The Government have agreed in principle to support the establishment of energy crops under the new Rural Development Programme, which will run from 2007-13, and is currently considering how best to take this forward.
	The European Union's annual €45/ha energy aid payment is available to farmers for purpose-grown energy crops grown on non set-aside land.
	Farmers can also receive the single payment for purpose-grown energy crops on set-aside or where the European Union's €45 per hectare energy aid payment is claimed for crops on non set-aside land.
	Support for energy crops is provided by R and D funding from Defra. This underpins an expansion in the commercial breeding programme. The aim is to double the output of new varieties by developing crops with maximised yield and resistance to fungal diseases and pests. Studies are also looking at the development of non-pesticide control strategies and potential new energy crops such as switch grass and reed canary grass.
	The Community Renewables Initiative aims to stimulate community-based partnerships in England to develop renewable energy, including biomass in their localities.
	In 2004, the Government commissioned a Biomass Task Force, led by Sir Ben Gill, to identify the barriers to developing bio-energy and to recommend ways to overcome the problems. They published their report in October 2005. In April 2006, the Government published its response(1) to the Task Force's report. This response accepts that energy from crops, trees and waste can make a strong contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and sets out 12 key initiatives and over 60 associated actions to make this happen. A number of the initiatives have already begun, and we published initial information on these in April 2006.
	(1) www.defra.gov.uk/farm/acu/energy/biomass-taskforce

Biofuels

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what change there has been in levels of production of biomass crops in England since 2000.

Ian Pearson: The following table details the hectares of miscanthus and short rotation coppice established in England under the Energy Crops Scheme. The figures are cumulative. It also details the growth rate in establishment of these crops since the introduction of the scheme in 2000.
	
		
			  Energy crop 
			   Hectares  
			   Short rotation coppice  Miscanthus  Total established  Growth rate (percentage) 
			 2002 298 52 350 50 
			 2003 391 52 443 27 
			 2004 498 354 852 92 
			 2005 788 1,011 1,799 111 
			 2006 1,180 3,356 4,536 152 
			 2001 233 0 233 —

Biofuels

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the energy crops scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The objective of the energy crops scheme is to encourage the establishment of energy crops grown in England. Energy crops are carbon-neutral and therefore, as a substitute for fossil fuels, can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
	The following table details the hectares of energy crops established in England under the energy crops scheme since its introduction in 2000.
	
		
			   Short rotation coppice  Miscanthus  Total 
			 2001 233.2 0 233.2 
			 2002 64.5 51.56 116.1 
			 2003 93.71 0 93.71 
			 2004 106.5 302 408.4 
			 2005 290.1 657.9 948 
			 2006 392.2 2,345 2,737 
			 Total 1,180 3,356 4,537 
		
	
	Applications for planting in 2007 indicate a continuing increase in uptake. These figures show the energy crops scheme to be a viable and attractive option for farmers.

Chemical Sprays

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures are in place to protect  (a) people and  (b) the environment from agricultural chemical spray drift.

Ian Pearson: The approvals process for pesticides assesses the risk posed to people and the environment from pesticide spray drift. If the risk assessment is not satisfactory then that pesticide use would not be approved.
	This rigorous risk assessment process is backed up by a code of practice for using plant protection products (pesticides) which includes a range of practical measures to avoid spray drift. These include using the right spraying techniques and equipment and taking account of weather conditions.
	The code emphasises the need to protect members of the public, wildlife and the wider environment. It is the pesticide users responsibility to ensure that all reasonable precautions are taken to prevent spray drift. It is a legal requirement that pesticides must only be applied to the land, crop, structure or other area being treated.

Climate Change

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to his oral statement of 12October 2006,  Official Report, column 485, on climate change, what assessment he has made of the extent to which the film "An Inconvenient Truth" has raised awareness of climate change.

Ian Pearson: Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth" was released in the UK on 15 September 2006. According to the distributors, United International Pictures, the film has been seen by 125,000 people. By the time the film is released worldwide, the global audience will be around 5 million.
	The film will be released as a DVD on 21 November 2006, with a potential worldwide audience of 10-20 million.
	On July 27, the Secretary of State hosted an advanced viewing event of "An Inconvenient Truth" at Bafta in London. The 190 attendees included journalists, students, representatives from various local authorities, large membership organisations, representatives from the voluntary and community sectors, environmental groups and key individuals from executive agencies and funded bodies. Feedback suggested the film is likely to be highly effective in inspiring those who watch it to do more to tackle climate change.

Climate Change

David Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which local authorities were  (a) successful and  (b) unsuccessful in securing funding from his Climate Change Fund in the latest round; for which schemes funding was awarded; how much was awarded in each case; and when applications will be invited for the next round of bids.

Ian Pearson: The successful and unsuccessful bids from local authorities for funding from the Climate Change Fund are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Successful local authorities 
			  Local authority  2006-07  2007-08  Total 
			  London
			 Royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea 18,450.00 3,550.00 22,000.00 
			 London borough of Lewisham 74,950.00 30,150.00 105,100.00 
			 Greater London authority 229,500.00 187,500.00 417,000.00 
			 London borough of Bromley 30,000.00  30,000.00 
			 London borough of Sutton 73,000.00 75,750.00 148,750.00 
			  South East
			 Crawley borough council 124,747.00 125,949.00 250,696.00 
			  South West
			 Somerset county council 124,900.00 113,600.00 238,500.00 
			  West Midlands
			 Stoke on Trent city council 50,354.00 47,953.00 98,307.00 
			 Shropshire county council 13,000.00 7,000.00 20,000.00 
			  North East
			 Sunderland city council 20,500.00 15,000.00 35,500.00 
			  Yorkshire and Humber
			 City of Bradford metropolitan district council 94,900.00 106,000.00 200,900.00 
			 Kingston Upon Hull city council 42,689.00 68,728.00 111,417.00 
			  East Midlands
			 Derby city council 50,000.00 51,480.00 101,480.00 
			 Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Local Authorities' Energy Partnership 207,500.00 171,500.00 379,000.00 
			 The Wellingborough Partnership 6,700.00 — 6,700.00 
			  East of England
			 Ipswich borough council 44,098.00 — 44,098.00 
		
	
	 Unsuccessful local authorities
	 London
	London borough of Lewisham (2(nd )application)
	London borough of Bexley
	Royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea (2(nd )application)
	London borough of Hillingdon
	London borough of Ealing
	London borough of Havering
	 South East
	Chichester district council
	Arun district council
	Woking borough council
	Bracknell Forest borough council
	Elmbridge borough council
	Royal borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
	Hampshire county council
	Basingstoke and Deane borough council
	Slough borough council
	Southampton city council
	Eastbourne borough council
	Lewes district council
	Guildford borough council
	Kent county council
	Maidstone borough council
	 South West
	Devon county council
	Swindon borough council
	Penwith district council
	Teignbridge district council
	Warwickshire county council
	Redditch borough council
	Malvern Hills district council
	 North West
	Lancaster county council
	Warrington borough council
	Trafford metropolitan borough council
	Carlisle city council
	Manchester city council
	Liverpool city council
	 North East
	Scarborough borough council
	Chester-le-Street district council (two applications)
	 Yorkshire and Humber
	Selby district council
	Rotherham metropolitan borough council
	Kirklees metropolitan council
	Wakefield district council
	Harrogate borough council
	Leeds city council
	City of York council
	North Yorkshire county council
	East Riding of Yorkshire council
	Scarborough borough council
	 East Midlands
	Broxtowe borough council
	Nottingham city council
	East Midlands Regional Assembly
	 East of England
	Breckland district council
	Colchester borough council
	Luton borough council
	Essex county council
	North Norfolk district council
	Cambridgeshire county council
	We are considering funding a second round of projects in 2007 to focus on changing people's behaviour but a decision has not yet been taken. Any further rounds will be publicised and announced on our website, www. climatechallenge.gov.uk.

Consultants

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spent on consultancy fees in each year between 2001-02 and 2004-05.

Barry Gardiner: The Department came into being in July 2001. The information held centrally is listed in the following table.
	
		
			  (£) 
			 2002-03 15,317,093 
			 2003-04 20,260,714 
			 2004-05 78,671,992 
		
	
	Figures for the financial year 2004-05 include spending on management and business consultancy combined following reclassification of expenditure on professional services. Figures for previous financial years reflect expenditure on management consultancy alone.

Cremation

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to tackle the effect on the environment of cremation;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect on climate change of crematoria.

Ben Bradshaw: Crematoria are regulated by local authorities under the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations 2000 (PPC). As such, they are subject to the provisions and limit values for all key emissions using the best available techniques (BAT). Statutory guidance on BAT is set out in Defra's Process Guidance Note PG5/2, which was reviewed and revised in 2004 and can be found at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/lapc/pgnotes/pdf/pg5-02.pdf.
	Considerable improvements have already been made to crematoria emissions under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which the PPC Regulations now replace. The latest guidance is aimed at reducing mercury emissions from all crematoria by 50 per cent. by the end of 2012, using an innovative burden sharing approach developed with the sector. I announced on 19 October, in a departmental press notice, our findings that the approach was proving successful, although we will be continuing to monitor the situation.
	I am pleased to be able to announce that we will be issuing revised guidance to local authority regulators that we consider a lower temperature of 800(o)C, rather than 850(o)C, to be adequate to deal with emissions where crematoria are fitted with abatement equipment to achieve our required 50 per cent. reduction in mercury emissions. This will help reduce fuel usage and CO2 emissions. We will be discussing further with the cremation sector how to obtain evidence of whether any similar measures can be taken for crematoria not fitted with abatement, without compromising environmental protection.
	The UK National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory does not report figures for any direct emissions of greenhouse gases from crematoria.

Departmental Expenditure

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on organising and hosting conferences in the last 12 months.

Barry Gardiner: DEFRA expenditure on conference organisation and sponsorship through DEFRA Communications Directorate plus centrally recorded spend from DEFRA's financial chart of accounts during the last 12 months was £3,562,246.04 This is comprised of:
	
		
			  Conference organisation sponsorship for Core DEFRA 12 Month spend: 1 October 2005 to 30 September 2006 
			  (£) 
			 Non-Pay Operational Costs of Conference Provision (i.e. administrative costs excluding DEFRA staff salaries) 814,373.78 
			 UK/EU presidency in 2005—Residual Payments 97,622.42 
			 Communications Directorate Facility Managed Conferences 600,803.51 
			 G8 and European Union Presidency 1,242,684.72 
			 G8 and International Climate Change 806,761.61 
			 Total 3,562,246.04 
			  Note: These figures do not include costs incurred by any DEFRA Agency/NDPB, as this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Expenditure

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his Department has  (a) planned to spend and  (b) spent in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: Defra's final Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) Budget and final DEL outturn for each year since its creation are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £000 
			  Financial year  Final DEL budget  DEL outturn 
			 2001-02 2,959,389 2,781,687 
			 2002-03 2,469,291 2,320,880 
			 2003-04 3,139,131 2,880,514 
			 2004-05 3,480,986 3,317,788 
			 2005-06 3,520,266 3,519,164 
			  Note: 2005-06 figures are provisional

Departmental Staff

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many jobs his Department and its agencies had  (a) in York and  (b) at the Central Science Laboratory site at Sand Hutton in each year since 1992.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 30 October 2006
	The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Core Defra staff at York site 
			   Number 
			  As at:  
			 1 November 2004 367 
			 1 April 2005 378 
			 1 April 2006 403 
		
	
	
		
			  PSD staff at York site 
			   Number 
			  As at:  
			 1 November 2004 182 
			 1 April 2005 198 
			 1 April 2006 198 
		
	
	
		
			  Staff in post at CSL site at Sand Hutton between 1996 and 2006 
			   Number 
			 1996 (1)— 
			 1997 431 
			 1998 431 
			 1999 443 
			 2000 587 
			 2001 592 
			 2002 629 
			 2003 656 
			 2004 645 
			 2005 660 
			 2006 648 
			 (1 )No data available. 
		
	
	The MHS employed the following numbers of staff at its headquarters in York:
	
		
			  Financial year  HQ staff 
			 1995-96 39 
			 1996-97 55 
			 1997-98 73 
			 1998-99 80 
			 1999-2000 80 
			  Note: Excludes individuals such as contractors who may have been working on site. 
		
	
	We are unable to provide data from 1994 (when the York site opened) up to 2003 as the work needed to provide this data would result in disproportionate costs.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff in his Department received bonus payments in each of the last five years for which information is available; what proportion of the total work force they represented; what the total amount of bonuses paid has been; what the largest single payment was in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: The following table shows details of bonuses awarded to staff in Defra in each financial year since November 2004. Data prior to November 2004, is available only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Period  Number of staff awarded bonuses  Proportion of work force (percentage)  Total amount of bonuses paid (£)  Highest bonus (£) 
			 November 2004 to March 2005 (1)513 6.7 179,879 7,616 
			 April 2005 to March 2006 (2)3,535 44.9 3,364,032 34,040 
			 April 2006 to October 2006 (3)1,019 13.9 1,362,657 15,000 
			 (November) 2006 (4)(1,680) (23.1) (2,933,611) — 
			 (1) These figures represents in-year performance bonuses only, paid to staff at grade 6 or below.(2) This figure represents annual performance bonuses paid to staff in the SCS and at grade 6 and below. In addition it also includes in-year performance bonuses paid to staff at grade 6 and below.(3) This figure represents annual performance bonuses paid to staff in the SCS only and in-year performance bonuses paid to staff at grade 6 and below.(4) This figure includes annual performance bonuses about to be paid to staff at grade 6 and below in November salaries. 
		
	
	Separate performance bonus arrangements operate for staff in the SCS and those at Grade 6 and below.
	 For the SCS:
	Non-consolidated cash payments, otherwise known as bonuses, reward in-year performances in relation to agreed objectives, or short term personal contribution to wider organisational objectives. Bonuses are paid in addition to base pay increases and do not count towards pension.
	Bonuses are allocated by Departments from a 'pot' expressed as a percentage of the SCS salary bill, which is agreed centrally each year following the SSRB recommendations. The intention is that bonus decisions should be differentiated in order to recognise the most significant deliverers of in-year performance.
	 For staff at grade 6 and below:
	The High Performance Bonus Awards scheme introduced in April 2005, provide Defra staff with recognition and reward for delivery of an outstanding outcome or performance that significantly exceeds normal expectations. The process should provide staff at all grades with an opportunity to earn a bonus, and ensure that achievements in operational, policy and corporate services areas are recognised as being of equal esteem.
	There are two types of award:
	In-year high performance bonuses paid to individuals or teams in recognition of one-off achievements during the year; and
	Annual high performance bonuses which are paid to the top 10 per cent. of performers in each DG for delivery of an outstanding outcome or performance sustained throughout the whole year.

Departmental Staff

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was paid to former departmental employees on gardening leave in each of the last five years.

Barry Gardiner: "Garden leave" is used very infrequently in exceptional circumstances and as a last resort; redeployment options and project work are always considered first. Decisions are taken at a business level and depend on circumstances and business need. Details, including costs, of such leave for former employees are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Travel

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been spent by his Department on  (a) chartering aircraft and  (b) non-scheduled air travel in each of the last five years.

Barry Gardiner: This question can be answered only at disproportionate cost. However, in respect of overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers, since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. Where non-scheduled aircraft are used this is shown in the list. Information for 2005-06 was published on 24 July 2006. Copies of the lists are available in the Library for the reference of Members. All Ministers travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the 'Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers', copies of which are available in the Library for the reference of Members. All official travel is undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the 'Civil Service Management Code', a copy of which is also available in the Library for the reference of Members.

Departmental Vacancies

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of vacancies in his Department in the last 12 months required candidates to have at least a grade C in  (a) English and  (b) mathematics GCSE.

Barry Gardiner: Defra operates a competence-based recruitment system. GCSE English and/or maths are not specifically required because relevant experience can be used to support an application rather than educational qualifications.

Dogs

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take further steps to regulate dog ownership through licensing.

Ben Bradshaw: We currently have no plans to re-introduce a dog licence. The Government support the approach taken by responsible dog owners who voluntarily have their pets permanently identified and registered on nationwide databases. The effectiveness of a dog licensing system is questionable; in the last year licenses were administered (1988) only 44 per cent. of dog owners applied for a licence.

Dogs

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential impact of EC Council Regulations 1/2005 on  (a) exhibitors and visitors to dog shows and trials and  (b) dog breeders; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The EC Council Regulations 1/2005 will apply to the transport of animals in connection with an "economic activity". The winning of prizes at shows and trials should not be regarded as making the transport of dogs to them commercial. However, the regulation will apply to the transport of dogs to shows and trials in connection with an economic activity, for example, professional dog breeders.
	Those who breed dogs as a hobby will be excluded from the scope of the regulations providing that their income source does not exceed the expenses of the hobby. However, the regulation will apply to professional dog breeders.

Energy Conservation

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage retailers to reduce unnecessary energy use.

Ian Pearson: The Government provide the Carbon Trust, a not-for-profit company, with funding of around £80 million each year to work closely with businesses, including retailers, to encourage more sustainable use of energy and help to establish more energy efficient practices and systems.
	The trust achieves this through the provision of free on-site energy-use assessments; identification of areas where savings could be made; and energy saving recommendations.
	A small fraction of retailers are participants in the voluntary climate change agreements, which offer a fiscal incentive for achievement of energy or carbon targets. The recent Energy Review identified significant potential for further cost-effective carbon savings from the non-energy intensive business and public sectors, which would include retailers. We will shortly consult on options to achieve these reductions, including a new mandatory emissions trading scheme, alongside other options.

Energy Efficiency

Robert Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 30 November 2005,  Official Report, column 507W, on energy efficiency, whether his Department has revised its estimates of the cost effective potential for carbon savings in the commercial and public services sector through energy efficiency measures by 2010 and 2020.

Ian Pearson: No revised estimates have been made.

English Nature

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what contracts were entered into by English Nature with environmental organisations in  (a) 2003-04,  (b) 2004-05 and  (c) 2005-06, broken down by (i) length and (ii) value.

Barry Gardiner: I will place copies of this list in the House Libraries.

Environment Agency

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has commissioned work to compare the costs of the Environment Agency with those of equivalent organisations in other European countries.

Ian Pearson: The Secretary of State has not commissioned work to compare the costs of the Environment Agency (EA) with those of equivalent organisations in other European countries. The structures, remits and funding (through charging income or general taxation) of equivalent organisations in other countries differ so much as to make such a comparison uninformative.
	The EA does liaise with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to benchmark its charging schemes and, where a true comparison is possible, the level of costs have been shown to be broadly comparable.

Environment Agency

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was allocated in grant-in-aid to the Environment Agency for flood risk management in each year since 1997-98; and how much he expects to allocate in each year up to 2009-10.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 9 October 2006,  Official Report, columns 200-02W, which provided information on Defra funding to the Environment Agency for flood risk management from 1996-97 to 2005-06.
	I hope to announce the allocation for 2007-08 before the end of this year. Funding for the years after that will be considered in the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review.

Environmental Transformation Fund

David Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the proposed roles are of  (a) his Department and  (b) the Department of Trade and Industry in relation to the Environmental Transformation Fund; and what the timescale is for the implementation of the proposals for the fund.

Ian Pearson: The final details of the scale and scope of the joint Defra and Department for Trade and Industry Environmental Transformation Fund will be announced in the 2007 Spending Review, for implementation in 2008.

Fireworks

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions his Department has held with the Department of Trade and Industry on the animal welfare implications of restrictions on the retail sale of fireworks.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 2 November 2006
	The Protection of Animals Act 1911 makes it an offence to infuriate or terrify any animal. Any person or organisation may initiate proceedings under this Act.
	The courts alone must decide whether an offence has been committed. A review of the legislation governing the sale and use of fireworks was carried between 2001 and 2003, which included discussions between my Department and the Department of Trade and Industry. Following that review, the Government supported a Private Members Bill that introduced new regulations on the sale and use of fireworks—the Fireworks Act 2003.
	Regulations were introduced in 2004, under the 2003 Act, to prohibit the use of fireworks after 11 pm (12 pm on 5 November). They also ban the supply of excessively loud fireworks. These measures were partly brought in to protect animals.

Fisheries

Michael Jabez Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how the British quota for white fish is allocated across the  (a) over 10 metre and  (b) under 10 metre sectors of the British fishing industry in England.

Ben Bradshaw: At the beginning of each year, the United Kingdom receives a fixed percentage of the total allowable catch for each quota stock. Fisheries Administrations then calculate the UK quota which will be distributed to producer organisations and most other groups based on the aggregate of the fixed quota allocations (FQA) units held by members within each group. The membership of producer organisations mainly involves over 10 metre vessels. Members of the under 10 metre fleet, which fish against the under 10 metre pool of quota, do not hold FQA units with their licences. Instead, units are held on a nominal "dummy" licence and the aggregate of these are used to calculate the opening allocation for these vessels. Some adjustments are then made to the quota which members might otherwise receive to boost their share of the UK quota for certain stocks before their opening quota is set.

Fisheries

Michael Jabez Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many fishing vessels are registered in the UK fishing industry; and what estimated number is in the  (a) over 10 metre and  (b) under 10 metre sector.

Ben Bradshaw: On 1 September 2006, there were 5,977 fishing vessels registered and licensed in the United Kingdom (excluding Islands). Of these, 1,458 were over 10 metres in length and 4,519 were 10 metres or under in length.

Flood Relief

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much  (a) capital and  (b) revenue funding was allocated to flood relief for financial year 2006-07; and what changes have been made to these allocations in the last six months.

Ian Pearson: DEFRA funds most of the Environment Agency's flood related work and grant aids individual capital improvement projects undertaken by local authorities and, in low-lying areas, internal drainage boards. The programme to manage risk is driven by these operating authorities; DEFRA does not build defences, nor direct the authorities on what specific projects to undertake.
	The following table shows current allocations for 2006-07 compared to the beginning of the financial year:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Allocation at start of financial year  Allocation now 
			 DEFRA grant to Environment Agency for capital spend 189.0 189.0 
			 DEFRA grant to Environment Agency for revenue spend 239.0 224.1 
			 DEFRA grant to local authorities and internal drainage boards for capital flood risk improvement projects 15.7 15.7 
			 DEFRA grant to local authorities and internal drainage boards for capital coast protection improvement projects (which protect against coastal erosion but often also have significant benefits in terms of protection against flooding from the sea) 68.7 68.7 
		
	
	The only change has been a reduction of £14.9 million in grant for Environment Agency revenue spend. The Government also supports revenue spend by local authorities on flood risk management through revenue support grant, administered by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Fox Hunting

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Forestry Commission has taken to encourage former fox hunts to switch to the use of artificial scents when drag hunting on Forestry Commission land.

Barry Gardiner: The Forestry Commission allows drag hunting to take place in some areas formerly used for fox hunting. Their agreement with the Masters of Fox Hounds Association includes in the terms and conditions details of the scent that may be used. This has been revised for the current season by including the requirement for hunts to continue efforts to achieve successful hunting with chemical only based scent.

International GCSE

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department recognises the International GCSE as an acceptable substitute for a GCSE for the purposes of recruitment.

Barry Gardiner: This qualification is not recognised by Defra as it is neither part of the National Qualification Framework or regulated by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. Defra operates a competence -based recruitment system and would require applicants who hold this qualification to also provide evidence of relevant experience in support of their application.

International Whaling Commission

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he has taken to encourage EU members that are not signatories of the International Whaling Commission to sign.

Ben Bradshaw: I have recently written again to the Environment Ministers of all European Union (EU) member states that are not currently members of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), and to those seeking accession to the EU, to encourage support for the IWC moratorium on commercial whaling, and for the United Kingdom's policies on whaling. Furthermore, I also raised the issue of IWC membership at the recent Environment Council meeting in Luxembourg.
	Defra officials also ensure that Foreign and Commonwealth Office posts in the relevant capitals are briefed, and engage in discussion with their counterparts on whaling at every appropriate opportunity. This ensures that these countries are in no doubt of the importance that the UK places on whale conservation.
	We shall continue to encourage more conservation minded countries to join the IWC as soon as possible, in order to reverse the pro-whaling majority.
	The UK and its allies have taken every opportunity to try to persuade new anti-whaling countries to join the IWC, with some success; six have joined in the last two years.

Light Bulbs

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of light bulbs purchased by his Department in 2005 were of the compact fluorescent type.

Barry Gardiner: 80 per cent.

Live Animal Exports

Gwyn Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many live adult cattle have been exported for  (a) breeding,  (b) further fattening and  (c) slaughter since 1 May 2006; and how many in each category were exported to each country of destination.

Ben Bradshaw: It is not currently possible to obtain reliable information from the EU-wide system for export certification (TRACES).
	However, the GB Cattle Tracing System (CTS) is updated as and when cattle are exported. The CTS shows that of 14,352 cattle of 42 days of age and older were exported to mainland Europe in the period from 1 May 2006 to 11 October 2006. The CTS does not indicate whether the animals were intended for breeding, production or slaughter. The cattle were exported to the following countries: Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, Republic of Ireland, Germany, Hungary, Estonia, Poland, Denmark, Romania and Switzerland. A breakdown of how many cattle were exported to each of these countries is not available.

Ministerial Speech

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much it cost  (a) to publish in booklet form and  (b) to distribute his speech to the Royal Show on 3 July.

Barry Gardiner: David Miliband's speech, "One Planet Farming—Towards a shared agenda for the future of farming", wasn't actually published in booklet form until after the Royal Show. The cost of the typesetting and print of the document was £10,490 excluding VAT. It was sent to 53,000 farmers with the British Farmer and Grower publication by the NFU, at no additional cost to DEFRA.

Nirex

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many meetings his Department's  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials have had with representatives of (i) Nirex, (ii) the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and (iii) Sovereign Strategy in the last 24 months.

Ian Pearson: On 1 April 2005, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) was established under the Energy Act 2004 and United Kingdom Nirex Ltd. was brought under Government ownership.
	Since that time, according to departmental records, Defra Ministers have had meetings with representatives of Nirex on two occasions and with representatives of the NDA on one occasion. Defra officials have had meetings with representatives of Nirex on at least 21 occasions and with the NDA on at least 14 occasions. There have been no meetings between Defra Ministers, or Defra officials, with representatives of Sovereign Strategy.
	Defra officials have also been at meetings and workshops with more general attendance at which representatives of Nirex or the NDA have been present.

Nuclear Waste

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to minimise the movement between licensed nuclear sites of conditioned radioactive waste.

Ian Pearson: There are various factors (such as social impacts, technical issues, protection of the environment, land use, transport, availability of radioactive waste treatment and disposal facilities and economic factors) that may need to be considered in any future decision about moving conditioned radioactive wastes between licensed nuclear sites. The desire to avoid excessive transportation of materials is an important consideration but must be balanced with all the other relevant factors on a case by case basis.

Nuclear Waste

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will assess the merits of making funding available to support the expenses of public and stakeholder engagement on the detail of implementation of geological disposal of radioactive waste.

Ian Pearson: In developing the implementation framework for the geological disposal of higher activity radioactive waste, the Government will consider the provision of any engagement and community packages as proposed by the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM). The implementation framework will be subject to public consultation next year.

Nuclear Waste

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether radioactive waste from private nuclear operators including British Energy will become part of the proposed inventory of nuclear waste to be placed in the geological repository.

Ian Pearson: The Government have accepted the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management's (CoRWM) recommendation for geological disposal as the best technical option for the long term management of the United Kingdom's higher activity radioactive waste. The inventory of materials for disposal in any given facility will need to be clearly defined before agreements with potential host communities can be finalised and before technical options are developed in depth.

Nuclear Waste

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to his Oral Statement of 25 October 2006,  Official Report, columns 1519-34, on the radioactive waste management report, how many jobs will be transferred from Nirex to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority; where they will be located; and what estimate he has made of the  (a) one-off and  (b) ongoing cost savings which will result from the transfer.

Ian Pearson: Nirex has key skills and expertise that we shall be safeguarding, as these are of utmost importance to the programme of work to secure geological disposal. It is anticipated that the staff of Nirex will transfer to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) on terms at least as favourable as those they currently enjoy. The NDA will consult with staff to explore their options and preferences as part of the integration process.
	For the foreseeable future Nirex staff will remain at Harwell. Under the proposed transfer, this would however be a matter for the NDA, and would be the subject of discussions with individual staff. There are no plans for relocation.
	Although currently owned by DEFRA and Department of Trade and Industry, the majority of Nirex's funding comes from the contract they retain with the NDA. It is anticipated that the proposed restructuring, utilising the powers given to the NDA under the Energy Act 2004, will provide the most efficient and robust means of implementing Government policy in future without the need to go through the costly and time-consuming establishment of new statutory bodies.

Organic Food

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much in-season organic food has been grown in the UK each year since 2000.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government collect information from UK organic certification bodies relating to land area utilised but not the volume of food produced. This information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  UK organic and in-conversion land use (2000-06) 
			   Thousand hectares 
			 December 2000 527.3 
			 December 2001 679.6 
			 June 2002 699.9 
			 December 2002 724.5 
			 March 2003 741.2 
			 January 2004 695 
			 January 2005 674.5 
			 January 2006 619.9

Pre-movement Cattle Testing

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the effect on the incidence of bovine tuberculosis of pre-movement testing.

Ben Bradshaw: The effect on the incidence of bovine tuberculosis of pre-movement testing was considered in a regulatory impact assessment which is available on the Defra website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/tb/pdf/prmt-regulatory.pdf. This assessment is being kept under review.

Pre-movement Cattle Testing

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department has estimated the cost to the farming industry of pre-movement testing of cattle.

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the financial implications for cattle farmers of the introduction of pre-movement testing for cattle over 15 months from 27 March 2006; and what financial implications he anticipates from the extension of pre-movement testing to cattle under 15 months from 1 March 2007.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 1 November 2006
	Pre-movement tests are a private transaction between a farmer and their local veterinary inspector. Government continue to fund the provision of tuberculin and all routine TB surveillance tests, at a cost of approximately £40 million per year. These routine tests qualify as pre-movement tests if the animals are moved within 60 days of testing.
	Cost sharing on animal health issues between Government and industry is a key part of our animal health and welfare strategy. As there are benefits to herd owners from buying or selling cattle with additional disease assurance, herd owners are now expected to share the costs of tests which are outside the routine surveillance programme.
	The financial implications of pre-movement testing were considered in a regulatory impact assessment which is available on the Defra website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/tb/pdf/prmt-regulatory.pdf. This assessment is being kept under review.

Protected Food Names

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to encourage British producers to make use of the European Union protected food name scheme;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the merits of the European Union protected food name scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: The European Union (EU) protected food name scheme provides farmers and producers with a way in which to add value to their product and meet consumers demand for more regional and local food. Under Defra's Regional Food Strategy, we have tasked Food from Britain with working with the Regional Food Groups and producers to raise awareness of the scheme and encourage more applications.
	Over the last two years Defra has written to a large number of trade associations and producers to remind them of the economic benefits to producers of achieving protected name status, and held positive meetings with a number of key organisations including the National Farmers' Union, the Country Land and Business Association, the English Beef and Lamb Executive, the British Pig Association and the Milk Development Council to discuss possible applications.
	We have also commissioned research which can be found at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodrin/foodname/research/pdf/adasresearchpdo.pdf.
	This research aimed to determine the awareness, perception, and attitudes towards, the EU protected food name schemes among UK retailers. I am pleased to say that all this effort is yielding some positive results. In addition to the 36 UK products which have been registered so far, a further nine applications have been submitted to the European Commission with 20 more at the UK stage of the application process.

Public Service Agreement

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made towards the 2004 Spending Review Public Service Agreement target to reduce the gap in productivity between the least-well performing quartile of rural areas and the English median by 2008.

Barry Gardiner: The progress which has been made towards the public service agreement target to reduce the gap in productivity between the least well performing quartile of rural areas and the English median is detailed in chapter 3 of the Departmental Report 2006. A copy is available in the House Library.

Public Service Agreement

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made towards the 2004 Spending Review Public Service Agreement target to improve the accessibility of services for people in rural areas.

Barry Gardiner: The progress which has been made towards the public service agreement target to improving the accessibility of services in rural areas is set out in chapter 3 of the Departmental Report 2006, a copy of which has been deposited in the House Library.

Recycling

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to encourage local authorities to expand their recycling programme to include  (a) recycling of plastic and  (b) kerb-side recycling.

Ben Bradshaw: Recycling is strongly promoted by a range of Government policies and we have set demanding targets, both nationally and locally, for household waste recycling and composting. However, these targets are not material-specific. The Waste Strategy review consultation, which we carried out earlier this year, also included proposals to set much more ambitious household waste recycling and composting targets, to reach 40 per cent. by 2010 and 50 per cent. by 2020. As well as encouraging more sustainable resource use, increasing recycling rates helps divert waste from landfill and therefore contributes to our efforts to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Local authorities' ever diminishing landfill allowances, allocated under the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme, also provide a strong incentive to divert greater amounts of biodegradable waste from landfill.
	Plastics can present a challenge for recycling as there are a number of different types in use, each requiring separate collection (or separation after collection) and treatment facilities to recycle. It inevitably takes time for this capacity to develop. However, more demanding recycling targets will mean authorities will be compelled to turn their attention to the more difficult waste streams, including plastics.
	Under the Household Waste Recycling Act 2003, all local authorities in England will be required to collect at least two types of recyclable waste from all households in their area by the end of 2010. Most households already receive this, or a better, level of service.
	The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), funded by Defra and the devolved administrations, is working to promote sustainable waste management by creating stable and efficient markets for recycled materials and products, including plastics and compost. WRAP's Recycling and Organics Technical Advisory Team (ROTATE) programme helps local authorities improve the efficiency of their recycling services. This includes advice to those planning to introduce a new scheme or the collection of a new material such as plastic.

Rural Payments Agency

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will ensure that the Rural Payments Agency makes a substantial part payment to farmers in England of the 2006 payments due to them under the Single Payment Scheme before the end of the 2006 calendar year.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 31 October 2006
	The legal payment window runs from 1 December 2006 to 30 June 2007.
	My right, hon. Friend the Secretary of State said in his statement on 22 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1478, that delivery of the 2006 Single Payment Scheme will be very challenging and that he did not want to commit to a particular payment timetable until the Chief Executive of the Rural Payments Agency has had an opportunity make a realistic assessment of the prospects. That remains the position.

Seal Hunting

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has discussed the culling of seals in Canada with the Canadian Government.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government regularly makes their abhorrence of the Canadian seal hunt known to the Canadian authorities. On 27 February 2006 the former Secretary of State for Trade and Industry raised the seal hunt with the Canadian Minister of International Trade during an introductory telephone call, and most recently my right hon. Friend the Minister for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs (Mr. McCartney) raised the issue with the new Canadian high commissioner to London during an introductory meeting on 11 October 2006.

Single Farm Payment

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will re-consider the entry requirement for the single farm payment to ensure that only those who are genuinely farming are entitled to that payment.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 23 October 2006
	The eligibility requirements for the Single Payment Scheme, including the definition of a farmer, are set in EU legislation and I know of no plans to change them. However we will in due course consider if a de minimis should be applied to single farm payments.

Single Farm Payment

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to make interim payments under the single farm payments scheme for the year 2006-07; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 31 October 2006
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said in his statement on 22 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1478, that delivery of the 2006 Single Payment Scheme will be very challenging and that he did not want to commit to a particular payment timetable until the Chief Executive of the Rural Payments Agency has had an opportunity make a realistic assessment of the prospects. That remains the position.

Single Farm Payment

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his estimate is of the proportion of farm income which was derived from the single farm payment scheme in  (a) Lancashire and  (b) the North West in each year since 1997.

Barry Gardiner: The Single Payment Scheme came into effect in the UK on 1 January 2005 and in that year was estimated to total £2.4 billion after deductions for modulation. Total payments to UK farmers less levies were estimated at £3.0 billion while total income from farming was £2.5 billion.
	Estimates at a regional level are made by apportioning the total using standard gross margins. These are not available for Lancashire and are not yet available for 2005 for the North West.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Total subsidies including SPS  Total income from farming 
			  UK   
			 1997 2,777 2,864 
			 1998 2,646 2,022 
			 1999 2,692 2,053 
			 2000 2,484 1,575 
			 2001 2,459 1,847 
			 2002 2,694 2,362 
			 2003 2,796 3,081 
			 2004 2,955 2,767 
			 2005 3,043 2,521 
			
			  North West   
			 1997 154 80 
			 1998 173 37 
			 1999 176 50 
			 2000 153 4 
			 2001 138 46 
			 2002 144 71 
			 2003 163 94 
			 2004 179 78 
			 2005 n/a n/a

Single Farm Payment

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the expected expenditure is on the single farm payment in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08; and what the original budget allocated was in each case.

Barry Gardiner: The UK national ceiling for Single Payment Scheme (SPS) is €3.945 billion in 2006 and €3.961 billion in 2007. Actual expenditure in each year will depend on the extent to which farmers apply for payment against their SPS entitlements and the level of deductions that pertain to those applications, including the effects of eligibility and cross-compliance penalties, EU and national modulation and, possibly for the 2007 scheme, financial discipline.

Single Farm Payment

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers have not received the single farm payment 2005 because of enforced penalties for late submission of claim.

Barry Gardiner: In 2005 134 farmers applied after the 10 June which was the final deadline for submission for the single payment scheme and therefore received no payment.

Single Farm Payment

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will ensure that the Rural Payments Agency makes substantial part payments to farmers in England for the 2006 payments due under the Single Payment Scheme before the end of the 2006 calendar year; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 1 November 2006
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said in his statement on 22 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1478, that delivery of the 2006 Single Payment Scheme will be very challenging and that he did not want to commit to a particular payment timetable until the Chief Executive of the Rural Payments Agency has had an opportunity make a realistic assessment of the prospects. That remains the position.

Single Farm Payment

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what response he has made to the National Audit Office report on the single farm payment scheme.

Barry Gardiner: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has welcomed the NAO's thorough report. The Department and Rural Payments Agency will draw on its findings and recommendations, along with those in the forthcoming reports from the Public Accounts Committee and Efra Select Committee, in taking forward work on the single payment scheme.

Single Farm Payment

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on decoupling of single farm payments.

Barry Gardiner: The Single Payment Scheme is already decoupled. However, in discussions with the European Commission and other Members of the EU Agriculture Council, UK representatives, led by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, continue to press the case for completing the process of decoupling by removing the remaining coupled direct aid schemes.

Single Farm Payment

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers in Essex are still waiting for their Single Farm Payments; and when he expects all outstanding payments to have been made.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 30 October 2006
	The Single Payment Scheme is not administered on a regional basis, so it is not possible to identify specific payments outstanding to farmers in Essex.
	As at 17 October, 114,037 claimants (97.91 per cent.) had received a total of £1.510 billion (99.7 per cent.) in full or partial payments based on an estimated total number of claimants of 116,474 and an estimated total fund value of £1.515 billion.
	Of approximately 2,400 customers who have yet to receive a payment, most have claims valued below €1,000 (£682). This figure includes 58 outstanding priority one customers (those due an estimated €1,000 or above) with complex cases involving issues such as probate, liquidation and business partnership disputes.
	The Rural Payments Agency will endeavour to pay outstanding cases as soon as possible, although it is not possible to suggest a timeframe to clear all cases.

Single Farm Payment

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the estimated cost was to  (a) his Department and  (b) farmers of delays in administering the single payment to farmers in Suffolk.

Barry Gardiner: Additional costs, in the form of reduced EU funding, may arise in relation to payments under the 2005 single payment scheme (SPS) which are made after the end of the regulatory payment window on 30 June 2006. However, it is not yet possible to say what if any costs will arise in practice as that depends on the outcome of ongoing discussions with the European Commission and the amount and timing of outstanding payments across the UK.
	As announced on 22 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1478, the RPA is also paying interest payments to those claimants who had not received their full SPS payment by 30 June 2006 subject to a £50 de minimis. As at 11 October 2006, 318,201 in interest payments had been made.
	Drawing on the advice received from the British Banking Association, the NAO has estimated that payments beyond February or March could have cost farmers between £18 million and £22.5 million in interest and arrangement fees on additional bank loans and increased short-term borrowings on overdrafts.

Single Farm Payment

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of his Department's proposed budget reduction is the result of  (a) changes in Treasury accounting rules,  (b) the administration of the 2005 Single Payment Scheme and  (c) underspending in previous years.

Barry Gardiner: Like all large organisations, DEFRA faces new financial pressures each year which require us to constantly review and adjust our spending plans. The current financial year (2006-07) brought several such pressures that meant the Department had to reduce its original resource budgets by around £200 million (about 7 per cent. of our resource budget baseline funding). These pressures stemmed from:
	surplus capital charge budget no longer being available to fund programme expenditure due to new tighter rules governing public expenditure (around 30 per cent.);
	costs deferred from 2005-06, not as a result of underspending but arising from pressure on the budget that year (around 45 per cent.);
	with the balance relating to pressures identified since beginning of this year. This included cover for RPA's running costs (around 11 per cent.), including administration of the Single Payment Scheme for both 2005 and 2006.

Single Farm Payment

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much farmers in  (a) the Wantage constituency,  (b) Oxfordshire and  (c) the south east have received from the single farm payment scheme in each year since it was introduced.

Barry Gardiner: A breakdown of payments made under the English 2005 single payment scheme is not currently available but will be published in due course.

Single Farm Payment

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of the re-prioritisation of his Department's spending for 2006-07 to meet unavoidable extra costs was due to  (a) additional resources for the single farm payment scheme,  (b) the response to avian influenza and  (c) other reasons; what other reasons there were; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: As with other large organisations, Defra faces new financial pressures each year which require constant review and re-adjustment to our spending plans. The current financial year (2006-07) brought several such pressures that meant the Department had to reduce its original resource budgets by around £200 million (about 7 per cent. of the Department's resource baseline funding and about 5 per cent. of the overall budget). These pressures stemmed from:
	RPA's running costs (about 11 per cent.), including administration of the single payment scheme for both 2005 and 2006;
	Avian influenza (about 5 per cent.);
	surplus capital charge budget no longer being available to fund programme expenditure due to new tighter rules governing public expenditure (around 30 per cent.);
	costs deferred from 2005-06 (around 45 per cent.);
	other miscellaneous pressures (about 9 per cent.).

Single Farm Payment

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much contingency funding has been set aside for the payment of EU penalties in relation to the Single Farm Payment scheme in 2005-06 and 2006-07; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: There is a well established process for discussion on, and refinement of, any proposals for financial corrections that the European Commission may decide to make in due course. Experience of such proposals under the old CAP regime would suggest that that process would then take some time to reach a conclusion. However, in line with normal Government accounting arrangements, provisions and contingent liabilities totalling some £131 million have been shown in the 2005-06 Departmental accounts, this being a prudent estimate based on the limited knowledge to date.

Tuberculosis Advisory Group

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when and why the decision was taken to choose a small number for the tuberculosis advisory group; and whether any of the members chosen were co-opted.

Ben Bradshaw: As part of their role, the TB Advisory Group will be asked to consider specific issues raised by Ministers and the chief veterinary officer. On 19 July, Ministers agreed to keep membership of the group small to allow the chairman to bring in further expertise depending on the task and/or discussions.
	The chairman considered applicants for the group and made his recommendations to the chief veterinary officer. All members will serve in a personal capacity and bring a balance of experience across farming, veterinary, conservation and welfare issues.

Tuberculosis Advisory Group

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people were interviewed for the post of chair of the tuberculosis advisory group.

Ben Bradshaw: Five people were interviewed for the post of Chairman of the TB Advisory Group. The application and appointment process was conducted in line with Nolan procedures and the guidance laid down by the Office for the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

Tuberculosis Advisory Group

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will publish the terms of reference for the tuberculosis advisory group.

Ben Bradshaw: The TB Advisory Group's terms of reference were published on 20 July 2006 when the Chairman, Peter Jinman, was appointed. Further information is available on the Defra website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/tb/partnership/advisorygroup.htm.

Waste Management

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the likely cost to the Greater London Authority of the proposed new duty on waste authorities to undertake their functions in general conformity with the Mayor's Municipal Waste Management Strategy.

Ben Bradshaw: The proposed duty on waste authorities to undertake their functions in general conformity with the Mayor's Municipal Waste Management Strategy will not impose additional costs on the Greater London authority. The new duty, along with the Mayor's existing power of direction, will help ensure the strategic vision the Mayor sets out for London is delivered on the ground.

Waste Management

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to deliver efficiency savings in waste management in London;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the projected savings in waste management in London over the next 10 years; and what other estimates of such savings he has examined.

Ben Bradshaw: Mott MacDonald carried out work, jointly commissioned by Defra and the Greater London authority (GLA), on opportunities for efficiency gains in waste management services in London. The report estimates that London authorities would need to generate efficiency savings of £45 million in 2007-08 and £145 million in 2009-10. The report considers efficiency savings that are achievable in London's waste and identifies a number of areas where efficiency savings are possible. The report is published on the GLA website at:http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/environment/waste/lswa/index.isp
	The Greater London authority: The Government's Final Proposals for Additional Powers and Responsibilities for the Mayor and Assembly, concluded that the creation of a Single London Waste Authority responsible for waste disposal would not generate significant cost savings, and could even increase the costs of dealing with London's waste. Further information is available on the Department for Communities and Local Government's website at: http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1501733.
	We are making good progress towards achieving our Gershon efficiency savings on waste. Provisional figures for environmental services indicate that £245 million per annum of efficiency gains are expected to be achieved in 2006-07 (£55 million of which is expected to be achieved within London). This puts us well ahead of schedule to meet the £299 million per annum target for environmental services in 2007-08.
	Defra will continue to facilitate efficiencies across England (including London) through:
	(i) The Waste Implementation Programme which includes work-streams providing standard documentation, toolkits, best practice case studies, funding to local authorities for consultancy work, advice on technology choices, good quality data and help with Private Finance Initiatives and other funding arrangements.
	(ii) The new Waste Infrastructure Development Programme (WIDP). WIDP aims to complement and expand on Defra's current efforts to comply with European Union Landfill Directive targets by:
	(a) establishing the scale of residual waste treatment infrastructure required to meet the landfill Directive targets in 2010, 2013 and beyond and accurately monitoring the ongoing delivery of projects in order to stay abreast of continuing requirements; and
	(b) developing and implementing measures which will accelerate the delivery of the necessary residual waste treatment infrastructure in a timely, value-for-money and affordable manner.
	(iii) Support to the Regional Centres of Excellence—which have been drafting a national action plan on Environmental Services efficiency, supported by regional action plans;
	(iv) The Waste and Resources Action Programme, which is funded by Defra and provides a wide range of support and best practice to local authorities on reducing and recycling waste;
	(v) Other enablers, such as the Office of Government Commerce on procurement, and local authorities sharing best practice including through the Beacon council scheme.

Waste Management

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with  (a) ministerial colleagues and  (b) local authorities about the level of support available to Merseyside Waste Authority to meet its statutory obligations.

Ben Bradshaw: The Secretary of State has had no discussions with ministerial colleagues or local authorities regarding the level of support available to Merseyside Waste Authority. However, my officials have been in productive discussion with officers from the Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority, since the start of this calendar year, regarding their long-term procurement for delivering recycling, treatment and disposal services.

Wessex Flood Defence Committee

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many overseas visits on official business the Chairman of the Wessex Flood Defence Committee made in each of the last five years.

Ian Pearson: The Chairman of the Wessex Flood Defence Committee attended a conference in the Netherlands in June, marking the closure of a large European project, the Joint Approach for managing Flooding.
	No further overseas trips on official business are anticipated.

Wessex Flood Defence Committee

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the  (a) salary and  (b) other costs were of the Chairman of the Wessex Flood Defence Committee in each of the last five years.

Ian Pearson: The Chairman of the Wessex Flood Defence Committee's salary and other costs including Employers National Insurance contributions, with travel and subsistence since April 2002, are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  (£) 
			   Salary  Other costs  Total 
			 2002-03 G. Sturdy 14,860 3,668 18,528 
			 2003-04 G Sturdy/H.Temperley 15,190 5,811 21,001 
			 2004-05 15,495 7,076 22,571 
			 2005-06 15,880 5,212 21,092 
			 2006-07 16,397 (1)5,306 21,703 
			 (1) Projection based on expenses incurred until July end 2006 
		
	
	The Chairman of the Wessex Regional Flood Defence Committee undertook 73 official trips in 2004-05 and 48 official journeys in 2005-06. The travel costs during this period totalled £7,640.

Wessex Flood Defence Committee

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the costs relating to the running of the Wessex Flood Defence Committee were in each of the last five years.

Ian Pearson: The costs of running the Wessex Regional Flood Defence Committee for
	2005-06 were as follows:
	
		
			  (£) 
			 Chairman's Salary 15,880 
			 National Insurance 2,033 
			 Catering/Subsistence 2,514 
			 Travel 2,378 
			 Financial Loss Allowance 1,149 
			 Total 23,954 
		
	
	No detailed figures are available for the cost of running the Committee in previous years. Since the number of meetings each year has not changed in the last five years, the costs will be of the same order, allowing for inflation. The costs for 2006-07 are projected to be £24,500, based on the costs incurred in the first six months of this year.

Whaling

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the Cypriot Government on Cyprus joining the International Whaling Conference.

Ben Bradshaw: I have written to the Cypriot Government, and to all the other member states of the European Union that are not yet members of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), urging them to join the IWC, stressing the importance of their membership.
	I am pleased to say that I received a reply from my counterpart in Cyprus. He has assured me of Cyprus' commitment to conservation issues and that the Cypriot Government is looking to join the IWC in the near future. The British Embassy in Nicosia is fully engaged in supporting the Cypriot Government in this step.

Wildlife Officers

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will reconsider the proposal to make wildlife officers compulsorily redundant.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 30 October 2006
	The Department issued compulsory redundancy notices to 19 wildlife officers (WOs) on 27 October. These WOs are based on two sites at Polwhele (near Truro) and Aston Down (near Stroud).
	There has been no work for the WOs since April 2006, and there is no prospect of future work for the WOs at the WLU sites in future. Although no announcement has been made on any future badger culling policy, Ministers have made it quite clear since last December that, if there was to be a culling policy, it would not be delivered by Government employees. DEFRA can no longer justify retaining these staff when there is no work for them to do.
	Every effort has been made to redeploy the WOs affected, including retraining and experience postings. Of the original 77 WOs:
	46 have taken voluntary redundancy since April;
	12 are on temporary loan or experience posting or secondment and will not be issued with notice at this stage; and
	19 remain without work or redeployment, and will be issued with notice on 27 October.
	Those issued with notice will have six months notice of redundancy during which efforts to redeploy and retrain will continue. The Department remains committed to making every effort to avoid compulsory redundancy, however in this case, the conclusion has been reached that there is no option and nothing to be gained by any further delay. Consultation with departmental and national unions has taken place, and the Department has followed the guidelines issued to all civil service departments to avoid compulsory redundancies wherever possible.

Biofuels

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what change there has been in levels of production of biofuels in the United Kingdom since 2000.

Stephen Ladyman: I have been asked to reply.
	Detailed information on the production of biofuels in the UK in the year 2000 is not held centrally, but the total amount produced is likely to have been very small. In July 2002, the Government introduced a 20 pence per litre fuel duty incentive for biodiesel, and in January 2005 it introduced a similar fuel duty incentive for bioethanol. These have led to a steady increase in UK biofuel sales, which in September 2006 were running at some 25 million litres a month. Approximately two-thirds of current sales are made up of biodiesel, the great majority of which is produced in the UK.
	The Government announced in November 2005 that they would introduce a Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, the effect of which will be to create a large new market for biofuels in the UK. This has led to a significant amount of investment in new UK biofuel production facilities. There are currently two major biodiesel production plants in operation in the UK (the ArgentEnergy plant near Motherwell and the Biofuels Corporation plant in Teesside), which between them are capable of producing some 300 million litres of high quality biodiesel a year, some of which is exported. A number of other biodiesel plants are at the planning and construction stage, including a Greenergy plant at Immingham which is due to come on stream in 2007. No bioethanol is yet produced in the UK, although a number of plants are at the planning and construction stage, including a British Sugar plant at Wissington (Norfolk) and a Green Spirit plant at Henstridge (Somerset).

Bulgaria

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the investment climate for UK companies wishing to invest in Bulgaria.

Malcolm Wicks: Bulgaria's stable political and economic environment has created a favourable climate for inward investment resulting in approximately US$ 2,324.2 million of foreign direct investment in 2005, including US$ 245 million from the UK.

Burmese Imports

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take steps with his EU counterparts to bring the EU trade regulations affecting imports of Burmese origin into line with those in the USA.

Malcolm Wicks: The UK and Burma are both members of the WTO and are obliged to abide by its rules. To require imports from Burma to be compulsorily labelled as to their country of origin would be incompatible with the non-discrimination obligations of the WTO. Such labelling/marking is not currently a compulsory requirement for any goods sold in the European Community whether imported or EU-produced.

Coal-fired Power Stations

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made on new initiatives to make all new coal-fired power stations carbon neutral.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department allocated £35 million for the demonstration of Carbon Abatement Technologies, which include both Cleaner Coal and Carbon Capture and Storage. The first call is worth £10 million with the remaining £25 million being split between two additional calls in the future. Some £20 million annually is also allocated in the Department's Technology Programme for research and development into a range of clean energy technologies including Carbon Abatement Technologies.
	The EU Emissions Trading Scheme is intended to provide a strong commercial incentive for the take-up by new and existing coal-fired power stations and other carbon emitting installations of these technologies, if and when they become a cost-efficient way of reducing or avoiding carbon emissions.

Departmental IT

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which of his Department's databases are  (a) wholly and  (b) partly operated by external organisations or individuals; and which organisations and individuals own those databases.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Under the PFI contract Fujitsu operate the MATRIX (Electronic Document Record Management), CALIPSOE (Human Resource Personnel) and CAPRI (Correspondence Handling) systems on behalf of the DTI HQ.
	Under a service contract AMEY operate the MENTOR (Financial) system on behalf of the DTI HQ.

Departmental Staff

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if his Department will  (a) carry out an age audit of its staff to establish an age profile of its workforce,  (b) negotiate an age management policy with trade unions and employees to eliminate age discrimination and retain older workers,  (c) identify and support training needs and offer older staff flexible working to downshift towards retirement and  (d) extend to over-fifties the right to request to work flexibly and the right to training with paid time off; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The Department regularly monitors the age profile of its work force.
	 (b) The Department has developed a Diversity Action Plan in order to meet its aim of enabling all staff to reach their full potential, in discussion with the trade unions and the Department's diversity advisory groups and in line with the commitments set out in the Cabinet Office 10 point plan on diversity. The Department is committed to addressing discrimination on all grounds, including age and will complete diversity impact assessments on relevant policies to ensure that staff are treated fairly.
	 (c) As part of our annual appraisal process all staff are encouraged to identify and support training needs appropriate to their individual situation. Individuals and managers regularly review these as part of the reporting process.
	 (d) The Department is fully committed to flexible working and to providing its staff with the opportunity for good work life balance., Therefore all staff (of whatever age) are eligible for to apply to work flexibly and their applications are given careful consideration. Any member of staff may apply for special leave with pay to undertake approved adult further education.
	As part of the Diversity Action Plan the Department will be delivering diversity awareness training to all staff in the Department which will cover age discrimination.

Economic Partnership Agreements

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to bring forward each of the economic partnership agreements between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific nations for ratification by Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Negotiations between the European Commission and ACP regions on Economic Partnership Agreements are due to be completed by the end of 2007. As the question of ratification will depend on the content of the agreement, we will not be able to give a clearer answer until closer to that point.

Employment Tribunals

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many employment tribunals involving a pre-hearing on the employment status of the appellant took place in  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2005-06; and how many of the pre-hearings were (i) appealed and (ii) overturned on appeal.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The number of Employment Tribunal claims which had a pre-hearing in 2004-05 and 2005-06 is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004-05 3,501 
			 2005-06 5,171 
		
	
	The Tribunals Service does not specifically record the number of pre-hearings on employment status or how many of the pre-hearings were appealed and overturned on appeal.

Energy Research Centre

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what funding is provided to the UK Energy Research Centre by his Department; what the aims of the body are; and how many staff are employed by it.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Research Councils have allocated the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) funding of £13.876 million over the period 2004-09. The UKERC aims to: generate, synthesise and disseminate knowledge and insight on sustainable energy systems to enable cohesive research supporting UK energy policy goals; act as a source of authoritative information on energy research, development and demonstration competences in the UK; co-ordinate the National Energy Research Network (a network for energy researchers); and underpin the quest for sustainable energy solutions through undertaking interdisciplinary programmes of research.
	UKER's funding covers six research programmes plus supporting functions. It is a collaboration between eight academic and research institutions. 59 researchers (33 FTE) plus seven administrative/support staff (5.7 FTE) are supported by the UKERC. All of these are directly employed by their parent academic or research institution. Eighteen studentships are also funded through UKERC.

Farepak

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he plans to meet the directors of Farepak.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 24 October 2006
	The Minister for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs has no plans personally to meet the directors of Farepak.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has already announced that the Department's companies investigation branch is conducting an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the failure of Farepak and our officials will seek to interview whomever they consider can assist them in their inquiries.

Farepak

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he is planning to meet the directors of HSBC to discuss the collapse of Farepak.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 24 October 2006
	The Minister for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs has no plans personally to meet the directors of Farepak's bank.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has already announced that the Department's companies investigation branch is conducting an enquiry into the circumstances surrounding the failure of Farepak and our officials will seek to interview whomever they consider can assist them in their inquiries.

Farepak

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects the administrator BDO Stoy Hayward to report on the closure of Farepak.

Ian McCartney: Administrators were appointed on 13 October over Farepak Food and Gifts Ltd. They have six months from the date of their appointment within which to report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on the conduct of the directors of the company.
	The Administrators will publish an initial report to Creditors on the finances of the company within six weeks.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has already announced that the DTI's Criminal Investigation Branch is conducting an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the future of Farepak.

Farepak

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received from the Hamper Industry Trade Association with regard to the collapse of Farepak.

Malcolm Wicks: None, but my right hon. Friend the Minister for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs (Mr. McCartney) will be meeting the Association in the near future.

Farepak

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he is planning to meet the directors of HBOS to discuss the collapse of Farepak.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 2 November 2006
	My right hon. Friend the Minister for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs has no plans to meet the directors of Farepak's bank.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has already announced that my Department's Companies Investigation Branch is conducting an enquiry into the circumstances surrounding the failure of Farepak and our officials will seek to interview whomever they consider can assist them in their inquiries.

Furniture and Furnishing Regulations

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer to question 96606, if he will apply the Furniture and Furnishing Regulations 1988 to imported furniture at the point of entry into the UK, with particular reference to sofas.

Ian McCartney: The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 apply to imported upholstered furniture destined for the domestic market, including sofas. These regulations apply at the point of entry to the UK and are enforced by Trading Standards. HM Revenue and Customs liaises with Trading Standards on furniture imports as appropriate.

IT Projects

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much his Department has spent on information technology consultants in each year since 2001; and how many of those consultants worked on web-facing projects.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Due to a change in the DTI HQ's accounting system and the devolved nature of the ICT until April 2006, consistent information to answer the PQ fully cannot be obtained without disproportionate cost.
	We are however able to provide you with information for IT consultancy contracts let since April 2006. The total amount to date is £288,132. Only one of these consultants worked on a web-facing project.

Loan/Credit Companies

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many loan and credit companies are registered; and how many new registrations of such companies there were in each year since 1987.

Malcolm Wicks: The Office of Fair Trading is responsible for consumer credit licensing. OFT current figures show that there are currently 128,944 licence holders. The following table details the number of licences issued each year since 1987.
	
		
			   Number of Licences Issued 
			 1987 20,312 
			 1988 21,969 
			 1989 26,323 
			 1990 24,998 
			 1991 24,203 
			 1992 20,504 
			 1993 18,906 
			 1994 16,927 
			 1995 15,547 
			 1996 16,595 
			 1997 17,852 
			 1998 20,818 
			 1999 18,785 
			 2000 16,603 
			 2001 15,131 
			 2002 16,074 
			 2003 16,510 
			 2004 15,853 
			 2005 15,726 
			 2006 10,514 
		
	
	Since 31 October 2004, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has been responsible for regulating mortgage lending. FSA figures record that in 2004-05, the number of regulated mortgage businesses was 3,935 and in 2005-06, the number of such businesses was 3,589.

Loan/Credit Companies

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what  (a) legislation and  (b) other regulations govern  (a) on-line money lending companies and  (b) companies taking credit for Christmas goods; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Companies offering credit to consumers, including by on-line methods, are subject to regulation under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and/or the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. There is no form of regulation which has specific application to businesses which take advance payments for goods or vouchers to be delivered at a future date, though all normal consumer, contract and insolvency legislation will apply.
	My right hon. Friend, the Minister for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs is due to meet the CEO of the OFT to ask him to consider reviewing the need for regulation of Christmas club companies.

National Institute for Medical Research

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the estimated cost is of the move of the National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill to the site of the former National Temperance Hospital in Camden; what assessment has been made of the potential implications for public safety of the move; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The cost of the relocation of the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) from Mill Hill to Central London has yet to be finally determined. The Medical Research Council (MRC) is currently undertaking an appraisal of a wide range of possible options, and hopes to be able to identify a preferred option by December 2006.
	The MRC has consulted Government security experts and the Health and Safety Executive, as is the case with all major building projects, and will continue to do so.

Panama Canal

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the implications of the plans to modernise the Panama Canal for United Kingdom trade; and what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the plans for UK trade with  (a) Japan,  (b) China,  (c) India and  (d) Australia.

Malcolm Wicks: The canal is currently operating at its full capacity and the expansion will enable the very large container ships, presently unable to transit the canal, to use the route from 2014, doubling the current capacity of 14,000 ships a year. This represents around 5 per cent. of all world shipping.
	While no formal assessment has been made on the implications for UK trade including our trade with Japan, China, India and Australia, it is expected that the expansion will benefit UK and global shipping companies by improving access through this key route.

Post Offices

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has for the future of the post office network in Sunderland; and whether the new card account for pensioners will be retained.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Post Office Limited (POL) is directly responsible for matters relating to the operations of a network of post offices in any given area around the country. I have therefore asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of POL, to reply direct to the hon. Member.
	The Department for Works and Pensions' (DWP) contract for the Post Office card account will expire in 2010, as it was always meant to. Exactly what accounts will be available beyond 2010 is not yet settled. Discussions between Post Office Ltd. and the DWP are ongoing. The aim is to ensure that customers continue to have a range of choices in how they can access their money at post offices.

Post Offices

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices have closed in each parliamentary constituency in the last 10 years; how many post offices there were on 1st April 2006 in each parliamentary constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The question raised relates to operational matters for which Post Office Ltd. is directly responsible. The company compiles figures for post office branches in each parliamentary constituency on an annual basis. This information is placed in and is available from the Libraries of the House.

Regional Selective Assistance

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much funding has been clawed back from foreign companies that were in receipt of regional selective assistance because they failed to meet the conditions attached to the funding concerning job targets or target investment levels in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Margaret Hodge: Regional selective assistance (RSA) is only awarded to companies who are registered in the United Kingdom.
	The total amount of regional selective assistance recovered from companies registered in the United Kingdom, who have overseas parent companies is outlined in the following table, for periods 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2006.
	This information is broken down by each accounting year and by each local authority area.
	
		
			  Recoveries from foreign companies from 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2006 
			   Total  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Nottingham 500,000 — — — — 500,000 — — 
			 Liverpool 100,000 100,000 — — — — — — 
			 North Tyneside 18,000,000 18,000,000 — — — — — — 
			 Newcastle-upon-Tyne 12,000,000 — — 12,000,000 — — — — 
			 South Hams 244,687 — 244,687 — — — — — 
			 Plymouth 156,502 16,000 — 140,502 — — — — 
			 Nuneaton and Bedworth 380,000 — 380,000 — — — — — 
			 Birmingham 1,219,986 — 700,000 519,986 — — — — 
			 Glanford 236,535 — 236,535 — — — — — 
			 Sheffield 16,150 — 16,150 — — — — — 
			 North Lanarkshire 9,629,000 1,129,000 — — 500,000 8,000,000 — — 
			 South Lanarkshire 1,880,896 88,215 175,000 1,470,000 — 100,000 47,681 — 
			 North Ayrshire 667,000 633,000 34,000 — — — — — 
			 South Ayrshire 20,000 — — — 20,000 — — — 
			 Renfrewshire 968,295 385,320 — 430,000 73,000 — 79,975 — 
			 West Lothian 20,888,121 1,098,039 30,932 16,966,014 2,473,136 — 320,000 — 
			 East Dunbartonshire 200,000 200,000 — — — — — — 
			 West Dunbartonshire 640,000 — — 640,000 — — — — 
			 Inverclyde 3,200,000 3,000,000 200,000 — — —  — 
			 Glasgow 300,000 — — — — 60,000 240,000 — 
			 Fife 4,877,337 — 1,283,611 400,000 2,050,000 98,000 770,726 275,000 
			 Angus 80,000 — — 80,000 — — — — 
			 Dundee 280,000 — — — 275,000 — 5,000 — 
			 Falkirk 100,000 100,000 — — — — — — 
			 Anglesey 771,555 — — — — — — 771,555 
			 Blaenau-Gwent 1,590,000 1,045,000 342,000 — 95,000 — — 108,000 
			 Bridgend 680,000 — — — 400,000 — — 280,000 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 226,295 177,545 48,750 — — — — — 
			 Neath-Port Talbot 400,000 — — 400,000 — — — — 
			 Newport 36,292,638 — — — 348,438 144,200 35,800,000 — 
			 Rhonda Cynon Taff 3,115,000 — 1,165,000 1,950,000 — — — — 
			 Wrexham 95,500 — — — 95,500 — — — 
			 Total 119,755,497 25,972,119 4,856,665 34,996,502 6,330,074 8,902,200 37,263,382 1,434,555

Savings Companies

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  if he will forward measures to strengthen the law to give greater protection from the closure of savings companies;
	(2)  what representations he has made to the Financial Services Authority on the closure of Farepak; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Companies offering financial services, including savings companies, are already subject to specific regulation. One of the main objectives of this regulation is to protect savers and investors in the event of company failure, and I have at present no new measures in mind in relation to savings companies. The Minister for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs is meeting the Chief Executive of the Office of Fair Trading to ask the OFT to reassess the regulatory framework which applies to Christmas club companies such as Farepak, and whether changes are needed in that framework. He will consult other bodies as appropriate in the light of his discussion with the OFT.

World Trade

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action his Department is taking to secure a successful Doha Trade round of World Trade talks.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government remain fully committed to securing an ambitious, pro-development outcome to the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). Our priority is to restart the negotiations at the earliest opportunity, and to encourage WTO members to show the flexibility necessary to reach agreement. The UK Government have taken and will continue to take every opportunity to press for this, both within the EU and with other WTO members.

Accident and Emergency

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many accident and emergency attendances there were in each quarter since the quarter ended December 2005, broken down by attendances to  (a) type one accident and emergency departments,  (b) walk-in centres and  (c) minor injuries units.

Rosie Winterton: The information is not available in the format requested. Information available is set out in the table.
	
		
			  Attendances at type one accident and emergency departments  (A and E), walk in centres (WiCs) and type three A and E departments, England, quarter three 2005-06 to quarter one 2006-07 
			   Quarter  Type one  WiCs  Type 3 (excluding WiCs)( 1) 
			 2005-06 3 3,346,995 616,165 484,321 
			 2005-06 4 3,282,671 612,305 489,873 
			 2006-07 1 3,509,769 629,417 583,148 
			 (1) A type three A and E department is defined as—other type of A and E, including minor injury units (MIUs) and WiCs with designated accommodation for the reception of A and E patients that provide treatment for at least minor illness and injury and can be routinely accessed without appointment. A type three department may be doctor-led or nurse-led. A service mainly or entirely appointment based (for example a general practitioner practice or out-patient clinic) is not a type three A and E service even though it may treat a number of patients with minor illness or injury. Note:MIUs are one type of type three A and E and will be included in these figures, but data are not collected separately for MIU attendance. Source:Department of Health dataset QMAE

Accident and Emergency

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the pattern of admission to University hospital of Hartlepool Accident and Emergency Department in each of the last five years, with particular reference to  (a) day of the week of admission and  (b) time of day of admission.

Rosie Winterton: The information is not available in the format requested.

Accident and Emergency

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people waited for more than four hours to be seen in the accident and emergency (A&E) department at  (a) St. Richard's hospital, Chichester,  (b) Princess Royal hospital, Haywards Heath,  (c) Worthing hospital,  (d) Queen Alexandra hospital, Portsmouth and  (e) Royal Sussex county hospital, Brighton in each of the last three years; and whether each of those hospitals met the Government target for A&E waiting times in each of those years.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is only collected at trust level. The table shows the number of people spending over four hours between arrival in accident and emergency (A&E) and admission, transfer or discharge for Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals National Health Service Trust, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, Royal West Sussex NHS Trust and Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust for each of the last three years for which data is available.
	
		
			  Organisation  Total attendances (all A&E types)  Percentage of patients spending under four hours between arrival in A&E and admission, transfer or discharge (all A&E types)  Number of patients spending over four hours between arrival in A&E and admission, transfer or discharge(all A&E types) 
			  Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS
			 2003-04 112,695 82.6 19,556 
			 2004-05 120,463 94.8 6,279 
			 2005-06 124,386 93.8 7,651 
			 
			  Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust
			 2003-04 125,227 87.1 16,165 
			 2004-05 129,790 95.0 6,454 
			 2005-06 133,503 98.6 1,851 
			 
			  Royal West Sussex NHS Trust
			 2003-04 47,948 93.0 3,361 
			 2004-05 48,344 97.0 1,449 
			 2005-06 48,868 98.7 633 
			 
			  Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust
			 2003-04 56,842 91.0 5,128 
			 2004-05 61,333 97.0 1,827 
			 2005-06 62,026 98.1 1,196 
			  Note: The first full financial year during which trusts were required to meet 98 per cent. was 2005-06.  Source: Department of Health dataset QMAE.

Abortions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abortions were performed on pregnancies of  (a) under nine weeks,  (b) nine to 12 weeks,  (c) 13 and 16 weeks,  (d) 17 to 19 weeks,  (e) 20 weeks,  (f) 21 weeks,  (g) 22 weeks,  (h) 23 weeks and (i) 24 weeks and over in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of abortions, by gestation, residents, England and Wales, 2001-05 
			  Gestation weeks  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Under nine 75,501 74,188 79,079 85,605 99,934 
			 Nine to 12 79,368 79,542 79,370 76,924 66,547 
			 13 to 16 14,724 15,064 15,357 15,454 13,373 
			 17 to 19 3,994 4,264 4,849 4,518 3,925 
			 20 740 782 783 814 925 
			 21 723 730 779 778 700 
			 22 698 712 699 735 539 
			 23(1) 515 533 530 463 336 
			 24 and over 101 117 136 124 137 
			 Total 176,364 175,932 181,582 185,415 186,416 
			 (1) Includes 24 weeks and zero days gestation.

Acinetobactor Baumannii

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the  (a) impact and  (b) spread of acinetobactor baumannii in hospitals; whether a new strain has been imported from Iraq; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: Microbiology laboratories in England, Wales and Northern Ireland voluntarily report bloodstream isolates of Acinetobacter species to the Health Protection Agency (HPA).
	The numbers of "Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii)" bloodstream infections in England, Wales and Northern Ireland reported in the past five years are shown.
	
		
			   Number of infections 
			 2001 233 
			 2002 289 
			 2003 323 
			 2004 340 
			 2005 371 
			  Source:Health Protection Agency(1) 
		
	
	Part of the increase in cases of "A. baumannii" reflects the increase in the proportion of cases of acinetobacter bloodstream infections in which the organism has been fully identified to species level (51 per cent. in 2001, 62 per cent. in 2005). "A. baumannii' is one of the less difficult species to identify and both this and clinical concern have probably contributed to increased reporting.
	Two multi-resistant clones of "A. baumannii" (Southeast clone, OXA-23 Clone 1) have affected hospitals in the United Kingdom in the past few years. Both clones have been identified in about 40 hospitals, predominantly in the London area and in South East England(2,3).
	The HPA has advised hospitals to implement urgently robust infection control measures to prevent spread of these clones, and is currently undertaking an analysis of outcomes, in order to identify optimum treatment for those patients who become infected(4).
	A multi-resistant strain of "A. baumannii", known as the T strain, has been isolated from casualties returning to the United Kingdom from Iraq(5 )but the exact source has not been identified. The T strain has also been isolated from US casualties from Iraq and it is very similar to the Southeast clone.
	(1) Acinetobacter spp bacteraemia in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland: 2001 to 2005 Communicable Disease Report (CDR) Weekly 2006; 16 (42) 19 October 2006.
	(2) JF Turton, ME Kaufmann, M Warner et al. A prevalent, multiresistant clone of Acinetobacter baumanii in Southeast England. Journal of Hospital Infection 2004; 58: 170-179.
	(3) JM Coelho, JF Turton, ME Kaufman et al. Occurrence of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumanii clones at multiple hospitals in London and Southeast England. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 2006; 44: 3623-3627.
	(4) Working Party Guidance on the Control of multi-resistant Acinetobacter Outbreaks. www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/acinetobacter_b/guidance.htm.
	(5) JF Turton, ME Kaufmann, MJ Gill et al. Comparison of Acinetobacter baumanii isolates from the United Kingdom and the United States that were associated with repatriated casualties of the Iraq conflict. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 2006; 44: 2630-2634.

Acute Medical Services

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will investigate whether the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust followed appropriate codes of practice in considering complaints presented by local people on the recent consultation process on acute medical services provision.

Rosie Winterton: A final decision on proposed changes to the provision of health services provided by University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust will be made shortly by the boards of the hospital trust and of the Cumbria and North Lancashire primary care trusts. This decision will then be considered by the overview and scrutiny committees (OSC) of Cumbria and Lancashire county councils. The OSC has the power to refer the matter to the Secretary of State for Health if it believes that consultation has been inadequate or that it is not in the interests of the health service.

Acute Medical Services

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will urge the university hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust to reverse its decision to reduce staff by 90 posts until the conclusion of its acute medical services review.

Rosie Winterton: The decision to reduce the number of posts at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay National Health Service Trust has been taken in order to return the trust to financial balance and is not connected to the review of acute medical services. The trust board is responsible for taking these matters forward working in conjunction with its primary care trust partners and NHS North West.

Asbestos-related Cancer

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on medicines for people affected by asbestos-related cancer in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by type of drug.

Rosie Winterton: Information on spending on individual treatments for cancer is not collected centrally.
	Spending on cancer generally has increased. £3.4 billion was spent on cancer services in 2003-04 and this increased to around £3.8 billion in 2004-05.

Assisted Suicide/Voluntary Euthanasia

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what representations she has received since July 2006 from  (a) doctors,  (b) nurses and  (c) other health care professions in (i) support of and (ii) opposition to (A) assisted suicide and (B) voluntary euthanasia; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many times her Department has consulted  (a) formally and  (b) informally on end-of-life decision making since June 2006; if she will list the stakeholders who have made representations to her Department on end-of-life issues during this period; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: We have had 72 letters and e-mails from professionals, the public and organisations since July 2006 on end of life issues expressing a wide range of views and opinions. Ministers have held recent meetings with the Archbishop of Westminster and with Dignity in Dying during which issues including end of life issues were discussed.

Audiology Services

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what funding has been made available to each NHS trust to transfer patients from an analogue hearing aid to a digital hearing aid;
	(2)  what assessments she has made of increasing the use of registered hearing aid dispensers to improve access to digital hearing aids; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: From 2000 to 2005, funding of £125 million for the provision of digital hearing aids was ring-fenced through the modernising hearing aid services programme.
	In 2005-06, funding for digital hearing aids was given to individual primary care trusts (PCTs) who had the authority to make decisions about the allocation of resources for audiology services according to the needs of the populations they serve.
	In 2006-07, the Department allocated national health service central revenue budgets on 25 July 2006. This amounted to a total allocation of £5.5 billion across all the strategic health authorities (SHAs) and is the aggregate value of all the individual allocations from many different budgets, including audiology. It is the responsibility of SHAs to reach agreement with their local NHS trusts and PCTs over the allocation of these resources to best meet local need. In addition, capital allocations for audiology services in 2006-07 amounted to £26 million.
	A partnership between the Department of Health, RNID and the audiology professional bodies has developed a new four-year BSc (Hons) in audiology. This will help to address the national shortage of audiologists; currently there are 348 audiology students on eight BSc audiology courses.
	The public private-partnership (PPP) is proving to be very successful and has recently been extended to March 2007. The latest data for October 2006 shows that about 50,000 patients have completed pathways through PPP. NHS trusts benefit from the increased capacity, competitive pricing and quality of service provision available through the PPP.
	In order to provide digital hearing aids at an affordable cost to the NHS, contracts have been negotiated by the NHS Procurement and Supply Agency with certain manufacturers. NHS audiologists can choose from a range of aids on contract for different types and levels of hearing loss. This enables the NHS to treat more patients from the funds available.

Bowel Cancer

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been screened for bowel cancer under the National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme since its inception.

Rosie Winterton: Over 6,900 people have been screened since the start of the national bowel cancer screening programme.
	The bowel cancer screening programme is an ambitious project, and one of the first of its kind in Europe. When fully implemented, it will detect around 3,000 bowel cancers every year. We are committed to implementing this important programme.

Breast Cancer

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her policy is on the screening of women aged 70 and above for breast cancer; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: There is currently insufficient evidence for inviting women aged over 70 for screening, but research is underway for the advisory committee on breast cancer screening. A final report is due in the next few weeks, and the committee will advise us on a way forward.
	Women aged over 70 are offered three yearly screening on request. Those who have already participated in the programme should be informed of this right after the age of 70.
	We have collaborated with Age Concern to produce the leaflet, "Over 70? You are still entitled to breast screening". The leaflet is widely available in general practitioner surgeries, health centres, breast screening units and Age Concern outlets.

Breast Cancer

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are taken  (a) to identify women at genetic risk from breast cancer and  (b) to raise awareness of the genetic risk of that cancer.

Rosie Winterton: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published clinical guidance in May 2004 (updated October 2006 to reflect new evidence) on "The classification and care of women at risk of familial breast cancer in primary, secondary and tertiary care". This provides clear guidance to health professionals on how to identify and manage patients who are, or are concerned that they may be, at increased risk of developing breast cancer because of their family history. The guidance has raised awareness among health professionals of the need to consider the possibility of genetic risk in women with a family history of the disease.
	The Department is also currently jointly funding, with Macmillan Cancer Support, pilot services in seven sites, for people at risk of, or concerned about, familial cancer. The model offers a continuum of advice and care involving primary care, local cancer services and specialised genetic and cancer services to provide consistent management of individuals in the appropriate setting according to their level of risk. These aim to provide better, more patient focused services for those concerned about their inherited risk of developing cancer by ensuring health care professionals along the patient pathway have relevant information to support and inform patients.

CIDP

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received from  (a) patients and  (b) other interested parties on the availability of intravenous immunoglobulin for the treatment of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradioculoneuropathy (CIDP); whether she intends to ask the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to undertake a technology appraisal of intravenous immunoglobulin for the treatment of CIDP; what steps she is taking to ensure patients have access to intravenous immunoglobulin for the treatment of CIDP; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: We have received one recent email from a Guillain-Barre Syndrome support group regarding access to intravenous immunoglobulin treatment for those living with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP).
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence can only undertake technology appraisals for treatments licensed in the United Kingdom. Currently there are no intravenous immunoglobulin drugs licensed for the treatment of CIDP.
	It is the responsibility of primary care trusts, working with local health professionals, to ensure all patients have access to the most suitable drugs and treatments for their disease. This may include the use of medications 'off-licence' if considered appropriate.

Clostridium Difficile

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action her Department is taking to prevent the spread of "clostridium difficile" in  (a) hospitals and  (b) the community; what representations she has received from (i) members of the public and (ii) hon. Members on this issue; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: We are actively working with the national health service to help them improve control of  clostridium difficile and have made it clear that this is an important public health issue.
	In December 2005, the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Nursing Officer reminded the NHS of the importance of this infection, listed the key actions for its control and highlighted the guidance available. The current guidance is on the Health Protection Agency (HPA) website at www.hp.org.uk and we have commissioned the HPA to review and update this national guidance. A new high impact intervention protocol on  clostridium difficile disease was added to "Saving lives: a delivery programme to reduce healthcare associated infections including MRSA" in June 2006, this tool will help the NHS reduce the number of infections. In addition, we will be introducing quarterly publication of mandatory  clostridium difficile surveillance data as more rapid feedback of results will help performance.
	However, controlling this infection requires appropriate management and clinical governance systems. This will be addressed by the code of practice for the prevention and control of health care associated infection developed under the Health Act 2006 which was published on 1 October 2006.
	A range of correspondence from the public and hon. Members on this issue has been received.

Community Hospitals

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her oral statement of 5 July 2006,  Official Report, column 819, on community hospitals, how many community hospitals in the Thames Valley Strategic Health Authority area are based in Victorian workhouse facilities.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is not held centrally.

Consanguinity

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance she gives to general practitioners on the advice they offer to patients who are in an at risk category on the issue of consanguinity.

Andy Burnham: None. In general, guidance on issues of practice is a matter for the appropriate professional or regulatory bodies. In addition, local national health service organisations may decide to issue guidance to help practitioners deal with issues which are of particular relevance to their local population.
	The Human Genetics Commission support the need for proper provision of education and information about marriage within a kin-ship group. This should entail access to counselling and support, preferably in the individual's or couple's preferred language, and a no-blame approach that enables at-risk couples to come forward for testing. Those wanting specific advice on their individual risk should consult a clinical geneticist or genetic counsellor in their local NHS regional genetics centre.
	From next year the curriculum for trainee general practitioners will include learning objectives to equip them to refer patients at risk of genetic conditions appropriately and to appreciate the importance of considering a patient's cultural and religious background and beliefs concerning inheritance in providing care. These have been developed by the Royal College of General Practitioners in partnership with the NHS national genetics education and development centre, an initiative funded by the Department to identify health care practitioners' genetics educational needs and encourage the integration of genetics into pre- and post- registration courses and continuing professional development.

Continuing Care

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 25 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1209W, on continuing care, when she expects to publish  (a) her Department's response to the consultation on the draft national framework for continuing care and  (b) the final national framework for continuing care;
	(2)  whether all patients in receipt of NHS continuing care in those strategic health authorities (SHA) which are operating multiple eligibility criteria will continue to be eligible for NHS continuing care after the SHA in which they are resident has amalgamated the criteria.

Ivan Lewis: All strategic health authorities (SHAs) have recently reviewed their criteria to ensure their legal compliance. Therefore, where a SHA is operating multiple eligibility criteria the existing legal basis for the provision of NHS continuing health care will remain the same regardless of which criteria is used. We would not anticipate a change in an individual's eligibility following the merger of the SHAs as long as their assessed health care needs have not changed.
	The public consultation on the national framework for NHS continuing health care closed on 22 September. We have had a large number of responses to the consultation which we are currently collating and analysing. We will publish our response as soon as this process is complete, and this response will set out the timetable for implementation of the framework.

Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to sign the 1997 Council of Europe Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine.

Rosie Winterton: The United Kingdom (UK) has not yet signed the European Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine. The UK supported the development of the convention, but domestic policy on many of the issues in the convention has been developing rapidly since the convention was opened for signature in 1997 and it covers a wide range of complex ethical and legal issues where domestic policy is still to be resolved. These matters will need to be concluded before the Government are in a position to consider signing and ratifying the convention.

Dentistry

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dental practices in the Shropshire Primary Care Trust area have  (a) signed,  (b) disputed and  (c) refused to sign the new dental contracts.

Rosie Winterton: Management information on the number of contracts signed, signed in dispute and rejected in Shropshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) area by 1 April 2006 shows that of the contracts offered, 64 were signed and eight rejected. Of the 64 contracts signed, 55 were signed in dispute. Three of these disputed contracts are now settled and discussions continue on the remaining contract. The information on disputes is updated through monthly reports and is available on the Department's website on www.performance.doh.gov.uk/dental_contracts.
	For Shropshire PCT, rejected contracts represent 11,256 units of dental activity (UDA). This was 2.6 per cent. of the total UDAs associated with all the contracts the PCT offered in April. The latest information shows that as at the end of August, the PCT had re-commissioned a total of 11,411 UDAs.
	A contract may be for an individual dentist or a practice.

Dentistry

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) adults and  (b) children have been registered as NHS patients with dental practices in the Shropshire Primary Care Trust area in each year since 1996.

Rosie Winterton: The number of adults and children using general dental services (GDS) and personal dental services (PDS) registered within Shropshire County Primary Care Trust (PCT) during the period 31 March 1997 to 31 March 2006 is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Shropshire county PCT 
			   Adults  Children  Total 
			 1997 105,477 38,897 144,374 
			 1998 88,612 39,178 127,790 
			 1999 78,345 40,523 118,868 
			 2000 77,408 40,622 118,030 
			 2001 74,805 39,987 114,792 
			 2002 79,565 40,748 120,313 
			 2003 70,656 39,423 110,079 
			 2004 77,263 40,998 118,261 
			 2005 76,574 40,952 117,526 
			 2006 90,688 43,243 133,931 
			  Notes:1. The postcode of the dental practice was used to allocate dentists to specific geographic areas. PCT and strategic health authority (SHA) areas have been defined using the Office for National Statistics all fields postcode directory.2. The data in this report are based on NHS dentists on PCT lists. These details were passed on to the BSA who paid dentists based on activity undertaken. A dentist can provide as little or as much NHS treatment as he or she chooses or has agreed with the PCT. In some cases, a NHS dentist may appear on a PCT list but not perform any NHS work in that period. Most NHS dentists do some private work. The data do not take into account the proportion of NHS work undertaken by dentists. 3. PDS schemes had varying registration periods. To ensure comparability with corresponding GDS data, PDS registrations are estimated using "proxy registrations", namely the number of patients seen by PDS practices in the previous 15 months. PDS proxy registrations were not estimated for periods before September 2003—actual registrations were used before this date.4. Data for 2003 and earlier do not include those PDS schemes that do not have any registrations, for example dental access centres, and is therefore not directly comparable with later data.5. The boundaries used are as at 31 March 2006.6. The latest information available for registration data covering the time series 31 March 1997 to 31 March 2006 has been published by The Information Centre for health and social care. "NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report England: 31 March 2006" ISBN 1-84636-073-0. Sources:The Information Centre for health and social care NHS Business Services Authority (BSA) 
		
	
	The previous system of patient registration does not operate under the new regulations. Information will be available in due course via the NHS BSA on the numbers of patients who receive care or treatment from national health service primary care dentists on one or more occasions within a given period of time. This will provide a measure that is broadly similar to that of patient registration under the former system of GDS. We expect the first information to be available later in the year.

Dentistry

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what mechanisms are in place for action against dentists who encourage patients to switch to private dental health insurance schemes without informing them of their entitlement to NHS treatment;
	(2)  what steps she is taking to ensure that patients are kept informed about their entitlement to treatment by an NHS dentist;
	(3)  if she will monitor the number of patients switching from NHS dentists to private dental health insurance schemes; and if she will ensure that those who do so are aware of their entitlement to NHS treatment.

Rosie Winterton: If a dentist holds a national health service contract, misleading a patient about the range of treatments available is a breach of that contract. Where primary care trusts (PCTs) have evidence that a dentist has misled patients in this way there are a range of possible actions culminating potentially in termination of the dentist's NHS contract.
	The General Dental Council's (GDCs) guidance "Maintaining Standards" requires dentists, whether providing NHS services or not, to make clear to patients the nature of the contract and in particular whether the patient is being accepted for private or NHS treatment. Non-compliance with these standards potentially puts a dentist's GDC registration at risk.
	Information for patients about NHS treatment and eligibility is widely available. Local information is held by each PCT. Many also run help lines dedicated to advising callers on how to access NHS dental services locally. At national level, NHS Direct can give callers information on their nearest dental practice offering NHS treatment. Patients can also access this information on line at NHS.UK.
	There are no plans to monitor the numbers of patients using private dental care. As with private medical care, this is a matter for the individual. However, access to NHS dental treatment is monitored. The first information following the reforms on the number of people accessing NHS dental services is expected to be available later this year.

Dentistry

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dental patients were admitted under Band 4 urgent treatment in each dental surgery in the Greater Peterborough Primary Care Partnership area in the 12 months prior to April 2006; how many have been so admitted since April 2006 in each case; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The separate band for urgent courses of treatment is a feature of the new NHS dental contracts introduced on 1 April 2006 and data are therefore only available for the current financial year. Data are available at primary care trust (PCT) level. The numbers of urgent courses of treatment so far reported and processed for the two Peterborough PCTs are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Courses of treatment processed by treatment band, as at April to June 2006 
			Number 
			 5AF North Peterborough PCT 817 
			 SAG South Peterborough PCT 47 
			  Total 864 
			  Notes:1. The postcode data of the Dental Practice Division was used to allocate dentists to specific geographic areas. PCT areas have been defined using the Office for National Statistics All Fields Postcode Directory.2. The data in this report are based on NHS dentists listed on a contract between a PCT and provider. These details were passed on to the BSA who paid dentists based on activity undertaken. A dentist can provide as little or as much NHS treatment as he or she chooses or has agreed with the PCT. Most NHS dentists do some private work. Sources:The Information Centre for health and social care. NHS Business Services Authority (BSA)

Dentistry

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her policy is on NHS dentists advising patients that a clinically necessary treatment is not available under the NHS with a view to obtaining the agreement of a patient to have private treatment.

Rosie Winterton: If a dentist holds a national health service contract, misleading a patient about the range of treatments available is a breach of that contract. Where primary care trusts have evidence that a dentist has misled patients in this way, there are a range of possible actions culminating potentially in termination of the dentist's NHS contract.
	The General Dental Council's (GDCs) guidance "Maintaining Standards" requires dentists, whether providing NHS services or not, to make clear to patients the nature of the contract and in particular whether the patient is being accepted for private or NHS treatment. Non-compliance with these standards potentially puts a dentist's GDC registration at risk.

Diabetes

Dennis Skinner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) adults and  (b) children have been (i) diagnosed with and (ii) treated for diabetes in the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of children and adults with diabetes is not available in the exact form requested. The following information is available for diagnosed diabetes.
	Estimates of the number of people aged 16 and over with doctor-diagnosed diabetes is available from the annual Health Survey for England. The most reliable estimates are for 1998 and 2003 when the survey concentrated on cardiovascular disease and these are as follows:
	
		
			  People aged 16 and over with doctor-diagnosed diabetes in England 
			   Number 
			 1998 1,070,000 
			 2003 1,550,000 
		
	
	The Health Survey for England estimated that in 2003, around 90 per cent. of those with doctor-diagnosed diabetes had type two diabetes(1).
	The number of patients diagnosed with diabetes identified by general practitioner (GP) practices in England in 2004-05 was 1.76 million people(2). This is the first year of data from this source. Figures are not available for type one and type two diabetes separately.
	The number of patients diagnosed with diabetes identified by GP practices in England in 2005-06 was 1.89 million people(3). Figures are not available for type one and type two diabetes separately.
	Information on all diagnoses count of finished consultant episodes for diabetes in national health service hospitals, England 1997-98 to 2004-05 is provided in the following table. It is difficult to accurately quantify hospital activity that is directly related to diabetes as all persons admitted with diabetes have it recorded in their diagnoses, irrespective of whether that was the reason for their admission. Conversely, a significant number of hospital admission may result from diabetes co-morbidity but never be recorded as diabetes related.
	 Sources:
	(1) Self-reported prevalence estimates published in 2003 Health Survey for England.
	(2) 2004-05 quality and outcomes framework data published by The Information Centre for health and social care.
	(3) 2005-06 quality and outcomes framework data published by The Information Centre for health and social care.
	
		
			  All diagnoses count of finished consultant episodes for diabetes NHS hospitals, England, 2000-01 to 2004-05 
			   Adults (18+)  Children (<18)  Unknown  Total 
			 2004-05 815,036 13,690 395 829,121 
			 2003-04 717,060 13,131 517 730,708 
			 2002-03 653,383 12,966 1,003 667,352 
			 2001-02 572,477 12,162 1,132 585,771 
			 2000-01 530,064 11,869 1,934 543,867 
			  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, The Information Centre for health and social care

Fluoridation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures she has put in place to ensure accuracy in the information provided by the National Fluoride Information Service.

Rosie Winterton: The National Fluoride Information Centre (NFIC) is an academically independent unit that provides objective information on all aspects of fluorides and fluoridation. It does not lobby in favour of or against water fluoridation. Based at the University of Manchester, all information it provides is derived from scientific literature and has been reviewed by independent scientific experts before being placed on its website. We are therefore confident of the accuracy of the information provided.
	The centre also has an independent advisory board that reviews the NFIC's activity. This board includes officers from the Department.

Fluoridation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will consider a further study to update the data gained from the York study on fluoridation.

Rosie Winterton: We do not consider that a further study is necessary to update the data gained from the York study on fluoridation. In the light of the findings of the York report, the Department commissioned the Medical Research Council (MRC) to consider what further research was required to improve knowledge about fluoridation and health.
	In 2002, the MRC published the report of its working group and since then a number of its research recommendations either have been completed or are currently being undertaken. In addition, the National Fluoridation Information Centre, in association with the Oral Health Unit for England, is developing scientific protocols to monitor all aspects of water fluoridation through research following the York review guidelines.

Fluoridation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) strategic health authorities,  (b) primary care trusts and  (c) other health bodies have contacted the Department giving notice that they are investigating the advantages of fluoridating their water supply; and if she will name each such body.

Rosie Winterton: We are aware that North West strategic health authority (SHA) and South Central SHA are currently exploring the feasibility of fluoridating water supplies in their areas in consultation with their local water undertakers.
	Greater Manchester primary care trust (PCT) and Southampton PCT have asked their respective SHAs to investigate the feasibility of fluoridating their water supplies.

General Dental Council

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance she has issued to the General Dental Council on the conduct of consultation exercises; and what assessment she has made of the conduct of their consultation exercise on registration draft rules.

Rosie Winterton: The General Dental Council is independent of Government. The conduct of their consultation exercises is a matter for them, and not the Government.

GP Budgets

Kenneth Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether under GP practice-based commissioning, GPs will be able to retain savings made against their budgets to be put towards patient services.

Andy Burnham: All practices will receive an indicative budget from the primary care trust (PCT), covering an agreed scope of health care services as part of the implementation plan for practice based commissioning. Practices that under spend against their indicative budget will have access to the resources freed up. For 2006-07 we have recommended that individual practices should be entitled to access and redirect at least 70 per cent. of any freed-up resource.

Health Expenditure

Michael Jabez Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the expenditure per head of population was in the constituency of Hastings and Rye in  (a) 1996-97 and  (b) 2006-07.

Andy Burnham: Expenditure data are not normally available at constituency level as this rarely coincides with the boundaries of individual health bodies. Data at individual health body level are retained for seven years and therefore data for 1996-97 are not now available. Expenditure per head is derived from historical audited accounts, therefore, data are not available for 2006-07.
	The figures for 1997-98 and 2004-05 for Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority (SHA) are shown in the table.
	
		
			   Expenditure per head in Surrey and Sussex SHA area (£) 
			 1997-98 618.46 
			 2004-05 1,181.31

Health Protection Agency

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had with the Health Protection Agency on  (a) the use of air cleaning technology and  (b) other measures to reduce hospital acquired infections.

Andy Burnham: The rapid review panel (RRP) was convened by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) at the request of the Department of Health. The panel provides assessment of new and novel equipment, materials and other products or protocols that may be of value to the national health service in improving hospital infection control and reducing health care associated infections (HCAIs). This includes air decontamination products.
	To date the panel has published 170 reports on its website at hwww.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/rapid_review/new_reports.htm 24 of these are on air decontamination products. However, there is little evidence to show that air plays a significant role in the transmission of most HCAIs.
	The Department works closely with the HPA through not just the RRP, and the HPA is actively involved in our comprehensive programme to combat HCAIs.

Health Statistics (Hartlepool/Tees Valley)

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what percentage of eligible women in  (a) Hartlepool constituency and  (b) the Tees Valley sub-region had (i) breast cancer and (ii) cervical cancer screening procedures in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how many women from the top decile of deprived wards in  (a) Hartlepool constituency and  (b) the Tees Valley sub-region did not take up the offer of screening for (i) breast cancer and (ii) cervical cancer in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The available information requested is in the table:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Hartlepool primary care trust  County Durham and Tees Valley strategic health authority( 1) 
			   Breast screening coverage( 2)  Cervical screening coverage( 3)  Breast screening coverage  Cervical screening coverage 
			 1995-96 n/a n/a 69.1 89.5 
			 1996-97 n/a n/a 67.2 88.9 
			 1997-98 n/a n/a 66.2 88.9 
			 1998-99 n/a n/a 68.7 85.9 
			 1999-2000 n/a n/a 72.8 85.3 
			 2000-01 n/a n/a 72.7 88.9 
			 2001-02 77.2 81.3 78.4 82.8 
			 2002-03 56.4 80.8 73.0 82.1 
			 2003-04 76.1 80.2 69.4 81.5 
			 2004-05 54.8 79.3 73.7 80.8 
			 (1 )Tees Health Authority from 1995-96 to 2000-01.(2) Breast screening coverage is the proportion of women resident who have had a test result at least once in the previous three years.(3) Cervical screening coverage is the percentage of women in a population eligible for screening at a given point in time whose last test producing an adequate result was less than five years ago. Source:Statistical Bulletin: Cervical Screening Programme, England: 1995-96 to 2004-05 and Statistical Bulletin: Breast Screening Programme, England: 1995-96 to 2004-05 
		
	
	Statistics on how many women from the top decile of deprived wards in Hartlepool and the Tees Valley who undertook breast and cervical screening are not held centrally.

Healthcare-related Infections

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her most recent estimate is of  (a) MRSA and  (b) clostridium difficile rates per 1,000 bed days in NHS hospitals (i) in England and (ii) broken down by NHS Trust.

Andy Burnham: The latest data were published by the Health Protection Agency in July 2006(1). The overall rate of methicillin resistant  Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteraemias in England for October 2005 to March 2006 was 0.17 per 1,000 bed days, and was unchanged from the rate for April to September 2005(1).
	The data for each acute national health service trust in England for each six-month period from April 2001 to March 2006 are also published(2).
	Rates of  Clostridium difficile associated disease in people aged over 65 years were also published in July(1) and the overall rate for England in 2005 was 0.22 per 1,000 bed days.
	The rates for each acute NHS trust in England were also published(3).
	 Sources
	(1) Mandatory surveillance of health care associated infections report 2006:
	www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/hai/mandatory_report_2006.htm
	(2) MRSA bacteraemia six-monthly data April 2001 to March 2006:
	www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/hai/MRSA_for_pririt.xls
	(3) Clostridium difficile yearly data January 2004 to December 2005:
	www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/hai/Clostridium_difficile_for_print.xls

Healthcare-related Infections

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the annual financial cost of hospital acquired infections.

Andy Burnham: This data is not available. A commonly used estimate is that hospital acquired infections cost the national health service £1 billion a year(1).
	 Source:
	(1) R. Plowman, N. Graves, M. Griffin, J. A. Roberts, A. V. Swan, B. Cookson, L. Taylor. "The socio-economic burden of hospital acquired infection". Public Health Laboratory Service 1999.

Hospital Chaplains

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what her policy is on the employment of hospital chaplains in NHS hospitals; and what guidance her Department offers to local NHS trusts on the role of hospital chaplains;
	(2)  if she will examine the proposals to reduce the chaplaincy service at the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust; and if she make an assessment of their impact on the work of the Trust and its service to patients and their families.

Rosie Winterton: The Department is committed to the principle of ensuring that patients and staff in the national health service have access to spiritual care, whatever faith or belief system they follow.
	NHS trusts are responsible for delivering religious and spiritual care in a way that meets the diverse needs of their patients. Issues concerning staffing chaplaincy services in hospital are a matter for local determination. However, we expect NHS trusts to adhere to guidance "NHS Chaplaincy: Meeting the Religious and Spiritual Needs of Patients and Staff".

Human Genetics Commission

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who the Chairman of the Human Genetics Commission is; what relevant specialist qualifications he or she holds; what his or her career has been to date; where the post was advertised; how many persons applied for the post; how many were short listed for interview; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The current Chair of the Human Genetics Commission is Baroness Helena Kennedy QC. Baroness Kennedy is a practicing barrister and broadcaster, whose work has included a focus on civil liberties and wider ethical and legal issues. She has a high public profile together with considerable experience in chairing advisory committees and producing reports on sensitive issues. A full register of Baroness Kennedy's interests can be found at www.hgc.gov.uk.
	Advertisements inviting applications for Human Genetics Commission membership and Chair posts were placed in the national press in 1999. Seven applications for Chair were received and three candidates were shortlisted for interview.

Macular Degeneration

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what treatments are provided by the NHS for age-related neovascular macular degeneration.

Ivan Lewis: All primary care trusts (PCTs) are funding photodynamic therapy treatment for patients with both the wholly classic and predominantly classic forms of age-related macular degeneration.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is currently carrying out an appraisal of Lucentis and Macugen for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration and final guidance is due to be published in August 2007. However, NICE will only publish appraisal guidance on Lucentis if it receives a licence from the European Medicines Agency.
	Where guidance from NICE is not yet available, PCTs are expected to apply local arrangements for the managed introduction of new technologies. These arrangements should include an assessment of the available evidence.

Macular Degeneration

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are being treated for wet age-related macular degeneration in each health authority area in England.

Rosie Winterton: Those diagnosed with macular disease and treated as in-patients are shown in the table. The table shows the number of in-patient admissions during 2004-05 to national health service hospitals in England for those whose primary diagnosis was degeneration of the macular and posterior pole.
	The data has been produced by former strategic health authority (SHA) area and reflects NHS hospitals in the area. The numbers do not reflect residents of any one area but will include cross boundary referrals, depending on specialised services commissioning arrangements for each area.
	
		
			  SHA of treatment  Number of patients 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 168 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 16 
			 Essex 59 
			 North West London 18 
			 North Central London 317 
			 North East London 21 
			 South East London 66 
			 South West London * 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 54 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 39 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 69 
			 West Yorkshire 140 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 103 
			 Greater Manchester 150 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 209 
			 Thames Valley 244 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 139 
			 Kent and Medway 40 
			 Surrey and Sussex 336 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 376 
			 South West Peninsula 176 
			 Dorset and Somerset 319 
			 South Yorkshire 46 
			 Trent 187 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 29 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 284 
			 Birmingham and the Black Country 174 
			 West Midlands South 33 
			  Note: Due to reasons of confidentiality, figures between 1 and 5 have been suppressed and replaced with "*" (an asterisk). Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, The Information Centre for health and social care

Medical Careers

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration her Department has given to deferring the introduction of the modernising medical careers programme; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: We are aware of the views expressed in the media to defer implementation of Modernising Medical Careers (MMC). MMC is a major initiative aimed to improve both patient care and doctor's training. For this reason, it is subject to significant governance processes involving both the Department and the national health service. Although it represents a challenging agenda of work the four United Kingdom health departments believe that MMC is proceeding satisfactorily and do not consider it necessary to delay it. Deferral now could significantly disadvantage some doctors in training.

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the operation of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's national rules scheme for homeopathic medicines.

Andy Burnham: The national rules scheme for homeopathic products was launched on 1 September 2006. It complements current arrangements for the authorisation of homeopathic products used for minor symptoms or conditions within the tradition of homeopathy practiced in the United Kingdom.
	Before the introduction of the new scheme, homeopathic products either held product licences of right (PLRs) or were registered under a simplified scheme. PLR licences were issued to all medicinal products on the market at the time that the Medicines Act 1968 was implemented in 1971. Homeopathic PLRs are allowed to carry descriptions of the symptom or condition that the product is used to treat, called indications. In 1992 European Union legislation introduced a simplified scheme for homeopathic products, so-called because the safety and quality of products have to be demonstrated, but there is no requirement to demonstrate efficacy. The simplified scheme is restricted to products for oral and external use and does not allow indications.
	Products authorised under the new national rules scheme will comply with all the requirements placed on conventional medicines, with the exception of those relating to preclinical tests and clinical trials. This will enhance the information available to consumers on homeopathic products authorised under the new scheme while continuing to ensure their safety and quality. The new scheme will also enable products to carry indications for minor symptoms or conditions. In addition, over the next seven years the homeopathic PLRs will be reviewed.

Mesothelioma

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she collects on local prescribing patterns for alimta pemetrexed within the national health service.

Andy Burnham: The Department does not collect data on hospital prescribing centrally. Data are available to the Department from a commercial company about drugs issued in hospitals.
	Full details of the use of Pemetrexed disodium (Alimta) by SHA cannot be provided under the terms of the agreement with IMS who provide the Department with hospital data.

Methylphenidate

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 26 October 2006,  Official Report, column 2093W, on methylphenidate, if she will request that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency take account of the  (a) work and  (b) recommendations of the US Food and Drug Administration on methylphenidate.

Andy Burnham: Methylphenidate is a stimulant drug that is authorised in children over six years of age as part of a comprehensive treatment programme for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Treatment should be under the supervision of a specialist in childhood behavioural disorders. Its safety is closely monitored by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in conjunction with other European regulatory authorities.
	Stimulants such as methylphenidate are recognised to cause cardiovascular adverse effects such as tachycardia or palpitations, (increased or fast heart rate), arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythm), changes in blood pressure (usually increased) and angina. There are warnings about these potential risks in the United Kingdom (UK) product information for methylphenidate, which also states that these products should not be used in patients with certain heart conditions.
	Concerns have arisen about the risk of serious cardiovascular events (including sudden deaths) in association with stimulant treatment in children and adolescents with structural heart defects. Although it is recognised that some serious heart conditions alone carry an increased risk of sudden death, in the United States the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has requested that the product information for stimulant medications, including methylphenidate, be amended to reflect this risk and to advise that they should not be used in those with known serious structural cardiac abnormalities and also to strengthen warnings about the risk of other cardiovascular adverse effects.
	The MHRA, with other European regulatory authorities, has also carefully evaluated the available data relating to the reports of sudden death in children with structural heart defects and taken into account the work of the United States FDA. As a result of these Europe wide discussions, the product information for methylphenidate is being updated accordingly to advise about serious cardiovascular adverse effects and to recommend that methylphenidate should not be used in children or adolescents with known serious structural cardiac abnormalities. This will result in alignment of UK and European recommendations with those of the FDA.

Methylphenidate

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will issue guidance to primary care trusts and GP practices that methylphenidate should not be prescribed for children less than six years old.

Andy Burnham: Methylphenidate is only authorised for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children aged six years and over and should only be initiated by or under the supervision of a specialist in childhood behavioural disorders. These restrictions on its use are clearly stated in the summary of product characteristics, which provides prescribing guidance to health care professional, and are also reflected in the British National Formulary for Children which is distributed on behalf of the Department to all general practices.

Mobile Phones

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what safety assessment her Department has  (a) conducted and  (b) evaluated into potential interference with sensitive medical equipment caused by mobile phone use in hospitals.

Andy Burnham: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) published a detailed study on the effects of mobile phones and other communication equipment on a range of medical devices in their Device Bulletin DB9702 "Electromagnetic Compatibility of Medical Devices with Mobile Communications", in March 1997—the Medical Devices Agency at that time.
	The advice in the publication DB 9702 has been reviewed on a regular basis by the MHRA since 1997.
	A further Device Bulletin, DB 1999(02) "Emergency Service Radios and Mobile Data Terminal: Compatibility Problems with Medical Devices" was published in May 1999, which addressed the impact of radio communications on the safe use of a range of medical devices.
	An update document, SN 2001(06), was published in March 2001, which covered the potential interference with medical devices by TETRA radio systems employed by the emergency services and media broadcasts from hospital premises.
	In July 2004 guidance on the MHRA website, which referenced DB 9702 and DB 1999(02), advised that healthcare providers should actively manage the use of radio frequency spectrum on their own sites, and consider the potential effects of communication equipment on all medical devices.
	The most recent MHRA website advice published is "Frequently asked questions on the use of mobile phones in hospitals". This has links to the other MHRA publications on the effects of mobile phones on medical equipment.
	MHRA's advice is that each hospital trust should conduct its own risk assessment and introduce the necessary controls to protect areas, such as ITU where sensitive equipment is in use. Areas that are generally accessible to members of the public may be suitable for the unrestricted use of mobile phones, and signage should make this clear.

Myeloma

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether Velcade may be prescribed to those with myeloma; what representations she has received from users of this drug; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: From 1 October 2005 to 25 October 2006, the Department has received 992 letters and emails about Velcade from users of this drug and other interested parties. It would be possible to identify the exact number from users only at disproportionate cost. We have also received two petitions about this drug.
	It is for clinicians, in discussion with patients, to determine treatments for a patient's condition. Treatments that have been positively appraised by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) must be funded by primary care trusts (PCTs) within three months of publication of guidance, if the patient concerned is eligible.
	Where NICE guidance is not available, PCTs should continue with local arrangements for the managed introduction of new technologies. These arrangements should involve an assessment of the available evidence for the technology in question. Funding for such treatments should not be withheld simply because guidance from NICE is not available.

National Carers Strategy

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in reviewing the National Strategy for Carers as set out in the White Paper Our Health, Our Care, Our Say; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: A number of commitments to improve support for carers were set out in the White Paper "Our health, our care, our say" which are currently being discussed with national carers' organisations. Work will begin shortly to plan how best to take forward the commitment to update and extend the Prime Minister's strategy for carers, published in 1999.
	Formal discussions have not yet been commenced with other relevant Government Departments but we will be involving them closely in the revision of the strategy along with other key stakeholders.

NHS (Hertfordshire)

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS posts she expects to be lost in North East Hertfordshire in the next 12 months.

Rosie Winterton: This is an issue for the local national health service.

NHS Consultation

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her Department's policy is in respect of strategic health authority and NHS trust consultation with  (a) NHS unions,  (b) the general workforce,  (c) patients' groups and  (d) the wider public before services are transferred from one hospital to another.

Rosie Winterton: Section 11 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001 requires all national health service bodies to involve and consult patients and the public in decisions affecting the operation of services. NHS organisations are also required to consult local authority overview and scrutiny committees on any proposals that represent a substantial service change.
	Individual employing organisations are required under employment legislation to inform and consult staff and staff/union representatives on various issues affecting their own organisations. Each NHS organisation will have its own locally agreed consultation procedures.

NHS Finances

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the NHS non-administrative staff budget was in  (a) 1995 and  (b) 2005.

Rosie Winterton: The table shows the total expenditure on non-administrative staff by national health service bodies in England in 1994-95 and 2004-05 in cash and real terms.
	
		
			  NHS (England) non-administrative staff expenditure 
			  £ million 
			   In cash terms  In real terms (at 2004-05 prices) 
			 1994-95 12,666 16,296 
			 2004-05 26,562 26,562 
			  Notes:2004-05 data does not include information relating to NHS foundation trusts.Figures are the total staff costs less the administrative and clerical staff costs reported in annual financial returns. Source:Financial returns of health authorities, strategic health authorities, primary care trusts and NHS trusts. HM Treasury gross domestic product deflator.

NHS Finances

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes have been made to the system of NHS resource allocation since 1997.

Andy Burnham: National health service resource allocation is based on the principle of weighted capitation, whereby resources are distributed between areas on the basis of the relative needs of their populations. Since 1997 there have been changes to:
	the areas to which resources are allocated;
	the frequency of allocations;
	the range of services covered;
	the population base; and
	the weighted capitation formula which informs these allocations.
	The changes are set out in the "Resource Allocation: weighted capitation formula" booklets (editions 2-5) which are available in the Library.
	Copies of editions 3-5 can be found on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/allocations

NHS Operations

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS operations were cancelled in Suffolk due to  (a) administrative errors,  (b) lack of beds,  (c) outbreaks of MRSA or other infections,  (d) the lack of correct or clean equipment and  (e) missing notes in each year since 1997.

Andy Burnham: The information is not held in the format requested. The Department collects data on the number of operations cancelled at the last minute for non-clinical reasons. The following tables show data for the number of operations cancelled at the last minute for non-clinical reasons for acute trusts in the Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire areas for the period 2002-03 to 2005-06.
	
		
			  Cancelled operations for non-clinical reasons, NHS organisations in England, 2002-03 to 2005-06 
			   2002-03  2003-04 
			   Number of last minute cancellations for non-clinical reasons  Number of patients not admitted within 28 days of cancellation on the day of surgery  Number of last minute cancellations for non-clinical reasons  Number of patients not treated within 28 days of last minute cancellation 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire SHA 2,995 526 3,350 383 
			 Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 645 189 769 209 
			 Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust 179 65 180 17 
			 Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust 417 130 488 38 
			 James Paget Healthcare NHS Trust 176 28 258 5 
			 Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust 662 2 569 25 
			 Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 185 1 166 8 
			 Peterborough and Stamford NHS Foundation Trust 253 32 187 0 
			 The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Trust 284 76 308 79 
			 West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust 194 3 425 2 
		
	
	
		
			   2004-05  2005-06 
			   Number of last minute cancellations for non-clinical reasons  Number of patients not treated within 28 days of last minute cancellation  Number of last minute cancellations for non-clinical reasons  Number of patients not treated within 28 days of last minute cancellation 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire SHA 3,859 505 2,545 208 
			 Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 1,090 382 507 95 
			 Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust 168 21 138 2 
			 Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust 533 1 384 24 
			 James Paget Healthcare NHS Trust 267 3 226 10 
			 Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust 492 24 327 16 
			 Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 159 8 154 5 
			 Peterborough and Stamford NHS Foundation Trust 270 8 298 1 
			 The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Trust 295 58 236 55 
			 West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust 585 0 275 0 
			  Note:In 2002-03 the number of patients not admitted within 28 days of cancellation on the day of surgery was collected. From 2003-04 onwards, the number of patients not admitted within 28 days of a last minute cancellation was collected. Source:Department of Health dataset QMCO.

NHS Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the annual savings would be from increasing the employee contribution rate of the NHS pension scheme by 1 per cent.; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The annual savings to the Exchequer if the employee contribution rate had been increased by 1 per cent in the period 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006, would have been around £310 million. Under the joint proposals from NHS Employers and the NHS Trade Unions, which are under consultation until 30 November, it has been agreed that there will be a cap on employer contributions.

NHS Services (Hertfordshire)

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the recruitment and retention of health visitors in Hertfordshire.

Rosie Winterton: No assessment has been made centrally as to the recruitment and retention of health visitors in Hertfordshire, as responsibility falls to local national health service organisations to ensure that they have sufficient staff to ensure services they provide meet the needs of the local populations that they serve.

NICE

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to review the  (a) remit and  (b) scope of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to ensure that they are able adequately to assess the wider benefits to society across (i) health, (ii) social care, (iii) carers and (iv) families; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The Department has no plans to review the remit and scope of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). NICE explicitly takes account of publicly funded health and personal social services costs in its appraisals, and also takes account of factors such as benefits to carers where it is appropriate to do so.
	As part of NICE's normal business, its technology appraisal process and methodology is subject to periodic review which includes a public consultation. NICE's appraisal process was last subject to such a review in 2003-04, and I understand that NICE will be undertaking a further scheduled review next year including a public consultation stage.

Ovarian Cancer

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the Calderdale Primary Care Trust in each of the last 10 years; and at which stage of cancer the diagnosis was made in each case.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 6 November 2006:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question asking how many women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the Calderdale Primary Care Trust in each of the last 10 years; and at which stage of cancer the diagnosis was made in each case. I am replying in her absence.
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of cancer (incidence) are for the year 2004. Numbers of cases of ovarian cancer for the years 1995 to 2004 for Calderdale Primary Care Trust (PCT) are given in table 1 .
	Stage at diagnosis was introduced in 1993 when the cancer registration minimum data set was established by the Department of Health. There remains much variation in the recording of stage by the regional cancer registries.
	Available information for Calderdale Primary Care Trust (PCT) on the numbers of cases of ovarian cancer by stage of diagnosis for the years 1995 to 2004 are given in table 2 .
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of newly diagnosed cases of ovarian cancer( 1)  for Calderdale PCT, 1995-2004 
			   1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  1997-2004 
			 Calderdale PCT 20 23 21 17 25 16 30 15 15 16 198 
			 (1) Ovarian cancer is defined as code C56 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD 10).  Source:  Office for National Statistics. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of newly diagnosed cases of ovarian cancer( 1)  by tumour stage( 2)  for Calderdale PCT, 1995-2004 
			  Tumour stage  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  1995-2004 
			 I A 0 1 1 1 0 2 1 2 0 0 8 
			 1C 0 3 0 1 1 0 3 2 2 2 14 
			 2A 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 2B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 
			 2C 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 
			 3C 1 2 0 1 5 3 8 2 0 3 25 
			 3 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 
			 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 3 1 2 2 12 
			 
			 No tumour staging recorded 17 15 20 11 15 9 15 8 10 9 129 
			 No tumour staging recorded (percentage) 85 65 95 65 60 56 50 53 67 56 65 
			 (1) Ovarian cancer is defined as code C56 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD 10).(2) Tumour staging of ovarian cancer using the FIGO staging method as defined in the Staging Classifications and Clinical Practice Guidelines of Gynaecological Cancers, Second Edition. Source: Department of Health, Northern and Yorkshire Cancer Registry and Information Service

Peterborough and Stamford Trust

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the cost to the public purse has been of private sector consultants engaged by Peterborough and Stamford NHS Foundation Trust to ameliorate that Trust's financial deficit since 1 April 2005; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what resources have been made available for bereavement counselling in 2006-07 in the Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust area; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: These are matters for the Chair of Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust, Dr. Clive Morton OBE. I have written to Dr. Morton informing him of your inquiries. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

PFI

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 26 October 2006,  Official Report, column 2099W, on the private finance initiative, what outstanding issues of  (a) affordability and  (b) capacity are preventing a decision on the private finance initiative review by the Treasury of Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust scheme from being more swiftly expedited; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The East of England strategic health authority are now considering the Full Business Case (FBC) for the Peterborough and Stamford NHS Foundation Trust private finance initiative scheme. It is expected that the FBC will be available for the Department to review by the end of the year. Production of an FBC is in the normal course of business and is a step that must be taken by all trusts with PFI schemes in order to transparently demonstrate, among other aspects, that the capacity and affordability assumptions underpinning a scheme are robust. The particular concerns the FBC will need to address are that the future income generation assumptions from the release of assets consequent on the scheme are sound and, that bed number assumptions are compatible with the economy wide capacity planning being undertaken by the SHA.

Physiotherapists

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many new NHS jobs have been created in physiotherapy in  (a) Liverpool,  (b) Wirral and  (c) Cheshire in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: The information is not available in the format requested. The table shows the number of qualified physiotherapy staff working in the former Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority area.
	
		
			  National health service hospital and community health services: qualified physiotherapy staff as at 30 September 2001 to 2005 
			   Headcount 
			 2001 901 
			 2002 915 
			 2003 942 
			 2004 1,027 
			 2005 1,112 
			  Notes: The Information Centre for health and social care, non-medical workforce census

Physiotherapists

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) research she has carried out and  (b) assessment she has made of the effect of Agenda for Change on job and career progression opportunities for graduate and junior physiotherapists.

Rosie Winterton: The national health service staff council has the responsibility for monitoring the implementation of agenda for change and the effects on NHS staff. This is carried out through its sub groups which include an equality and diversity group, job evaluation consistency checking group and the knowledge and skills framework group. The Department has carried out no separate research in this area.

Physiotherapists

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many physiotherapist posts there are in the NHS; and what estimate she has made of the number of posts which will be available to new graduate physiotherapists in each of the next three years;
	(2)  how many physiotherapists graduated in each of the last five years; and how many physiotherapist  (a) posts and  (b) vacancies there were in the NHS in each year.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of physiotherapist posts, and the number of physiotherapists who have graduated each year is not collected centrally.
	The three-month vacancy rate, vacancy number and the number of physiotherapy staff for 2006 and in each of the last five years are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Information Centre for Health and Social Care vacancies survey—Three month vacancy rates, number and staff in post for qualified physiotherapy staff in England 
			   Percentage of three month vacancy rate  Number of three month vacancy  Number of staff in post (whole-time equivalent)( 1)  Number of staff in post (headcount)( 1) 
			 2001 5.0 655 12,515 15,608 
			 2002 5.2 715 12,992 16,212 
			 2003 4.7 671 13,586 16,885 
			 2004 4.1 626 14,455 17,922 
			 2005 2.9 464 15,564 19,139 
			 2006 1.1 183 16,291 19,997 
			 (1 )Staff in post data is from the Non-Medical Workforce Census as at 30 September previous to the specified year.   Notes: 1. Vacancy data is from the Vacancy Survey each specified year.  2. Three month vacancy information is as at 31 March each specified year.  3. Three month vacancies are vacancies which Trusts are actively trying to fill, which had lasted for three months or more (full time equivalents).  4. Three month Vacancy Rates are three month vacancies expressed as a percentage of three month vacancies plus staff in post.  5. Three month Vacancy Rates are calculated using staff in post from the Non-Medical Workforce Census  6. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place.  7. Vacancy and staff in post numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number.   Source:  The Information Centre for Health and Social Care Vacancies Survey The Information Centre for Health and Social Care Non-Medical Workforce Census

Sleep Apnoea

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she has issued guidance to NHS trusts about their potential liability relating to decisions not to provide continuous positive airways pressure equipment to those patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnoea; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: No. It is for the national health service locally to commission services for the people they serve, informed by clinical judgment of the actual needs and any advice they have from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). NICE has not yet completed their consideration of continuous positive airway pressure for people with sleep apnoea.

Staffordshire Ambulance Service

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment the Prime Minister has made of the recent removal of  (a) ResQPOD heart resuscitation equipment from Staffordshire ambulances and  (b) emergency response medicines from Staffordshire Ambulance First Responders; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: These are local matters for the Staffordshire Ambulance Service National Health Service Trust.

Stockport NHS Foundation Trust

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the likely outturn expenditure against plans of Stockport NHS Foundation Trust for 2006-07.

Andy Burnham: I am advised by the Chairman of Monitor (whose statutory name is the Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts) that Stockport NHS Foundation Trust has forecast in its annual plan that it will achieve break-even in 2006-07. In the first quarter of 2006-07, the trust was on track to achieve the planned full year out-turn. Both the trust's annual plan and the quarterly monitoring results for the foundation trust sector are publicly available on Monitor's website at www.monitor-nhsft.gov.uk.

Strokes

Dennis Skinner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have had strokes in  (a) England and  (b) the East Midlands in the last 10 years.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Finished consultant episodes of strokes in England and East Midlands: national health service hospitals, England, 1995-96 to 2004-05 
			   Total number 
			  England  
			 1995-96 110,177 
			 1996-97 116,016 
			 1997-98 124,849 
			 1998-99 130,129 
			 1999-2000 131,139 
			 2000-01 130,217 
			 2001-02 136,474 
			 2002-03 148,237 
			 2003-04 150,899 
			 2004-05 154,805 
			   
			  East Midlands  
			 1995-96 (1)— 
			 1996-97 12,621 
			 1997-98 13,445 
			 1998-99 15,915 
			 1999-2000 16,161 
			 2000-01 16,001 
			 2001-02 16,174 
			 2002-03 16,856 
			 2003-04 17,541 
			 2004-05 17,295 
			 (1) Data not available as not mapped by region prior to 1996-97.  Notes:  1.  Finished consultant episode (FCE) An FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. The figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.  2.  Ungrossed data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data, that is the data is ungrossed.   Source:  Hospital Episode Statistics, The Information Centre for health and social care

Surrey and Sussex NHS Trust

Laura Moffatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are expected to be made redundant at the Surrey and Sussex NHS Trust in the financial year 2006-07.

Rosie Winterton: This is an issue for the local national health service.

University Hospital of Hartlepool

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were admitted to the University hospital of Hartlepool Accident and Emergency Department in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: The information for the University Hospital of Hartlepool is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Finished in-year admission episodes via accident and emergency services, national health service hospitals, England, 2000-01 to 2004-05 
			  Method of admission: Emergency 
			  Description of provider: North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust 
			   Number 
			 2004-05 15,596 
			 2003-04 12,784 
			 2002-03 12,007 
			 2001-02 11,809 
			 2000-01 10,982 
			  Notes:   Method of admission  1. Emergency: via accident and emergency (A&E) services, including the casualty department of the provider. 2. A finished in-year admission is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one Healthcare provider, excluding admissions beginning before 1 April at the start of the data year. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.  3. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data, that is the data is ungrossed.   Source:  Hospital Episodes Statistics, The Information Centre for health and social care.

Waiting Lists/Times

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for  (a) cancer and  (b) cardiac patients in Barnet who were waiting for (A) outpatient appointments and (B) surgery or other inpatient treatment in (i) May 1997 and (ii) May 2006; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Cancer waiting times data is not available for 1997 and 2006 data is not available in the format requested. Cardiac waiting times data is not held centrally.
	A cancer out-patient waiting time standard of a maximum two weeks from urgent general practitioner referral to first being seen by a specialist was introduced in 2000. The latest quarterly performance data (quarter one, April to June 2006) shows that at Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals National Health Service Trust 100 per cent. of cancer patients were seen within two weeks of urgent referral by their general practitioner (GP).
	Cancer treatment standards of two months from urgent GP referral to first cancer treatment and one month from diagnosis to first cancer treatment were introduced at the end of 2005. Latest quarterly performance data shows that 95.1 per cent. of patients were treated within two months of urgent referral by their general practitioner and 100 per cent. of cancer patients were treated within one month of diagnosis at Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust.

"Not to Exceed" Dates

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the 'not to exceed' in-service date at main gate was for  (a) White Fleet PFI,  (b) Single Living Accommodation,  (c) Digitisation of the Battlespace (Land)-Com BAT, Infra and Platform,  (d) Otterburn Training Area,  (e) Project Aquatrine-Water and Wastewater Services PFI,  (f) Hayes Record Office,  (g) SSN Berthing HMNB Clyde,  (h) Defence Estates Regional Prime Contracting-Scotland,  (i) Project NEPTUNE and  (j) Defence Information Infrastructure (Army); and what the 'not to exceed' cost at main gate was for the demonstration and manufacture phase of each project, broken into (i) indirect resource Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL), (ii) direct resource DEL and (iii) capital DEL.

Adam Ingram: The term 'not to exceed' was not used during the approvals process for the majority of the projects as they predated the use of this concept. The values and dates used in the following table are those approved at Main Gate.
	Similarly, not all of the projects broke the cost down into Indirect Resource DEL, Direct Resource DEL and Capital DEL. The table therefore reflects the values approved in the relevant Main Gate, many of which are for service based contracts, not a demonstration and manufacture phase.
	
		
			  Project name  Approved in service date  Approved cost (£ million) 
			Indirect RDEL  Direct RDEL  Capital DEL 
			 White Fleet PFI Implementation of Service: April 2001 Maximum initial contract cost - 540.9 
			
			 Single Living Accommodation November 2004 786 
			
			 Digitisation of the Battlespace (Land-Corn BAT, Infra and Platform) December 2004 379 
			 
			 Otterburn Training Area November 2005 12.22 64.79 
			 
			 Project Aquatrine,Water and Wastewater services PFI August 2004 (A) 1000 — 
			  June 2005 (B) 392.2 — 
			  April 2005 (C) 1001. 8 — 
			 
			 Hayes Record Office July 2005 28.10 — 
			 
			 SSN Berthing HMNB Clyde November 2007 12.44 147.09 
			 
			 Defence Estates Regional Prime Contracting, Scotland March 2004 467 153 
			 
			 Project NEPTUNE Approved as an element of Defence Estates Regional Prime Contracting-Scotland 
			
			 Defence Information Infrastructure (Army) March 2005 212

Afghanistan

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civilians have been  (a) killed and  (b) injured by the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan in each of the last six months.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 26 October 2006,  Official Report, column 2013, to the hon. Member for Islington, North (Jeremy Corbyn).
	Similar principles apply to the number of civilians injured as to the number of civilians killed.

Afghanistan

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK armed forces personnel were in Afghanistan in each month between June 2003 and October 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: Figures for the number of UK regular forces deployed in Afghanistan from December 2005 are shown in the following table. Figures for the number of UK service personnel deployed before December 2005 are not held centrally.
	
		
			  Deployment of UK armed forces( 1)  in Afghanistan since December 2005 
			  Date( 2)  Total 
			 December 2005 820 
			 January 2006 840 
			 February 2006 870 
			 March 2006 1,900 
			 April 2006 2,330 
			 May 2006 3,880 
			 June 2006 4,370 
			 July 2006 4,590 
			 August 2006 4,950 
			 September 2006 5,220 
			 October 2006 5,850 
			 (1) Figures include UK regular forces and mobilised reservists. They exclude civilians and Royal Fleet Auxiliary.  (2) Figures are collated from a manual headcount of personnel in theatre, reported on a weekly basis. The figures shown are the closest available to the first of each month.   Note:  Due to the rounding methods used, totals may not always equal the sum of the parts. When rounding to the nearest 10, numbers ending in 5 have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. 
		
	
	Figures for the number of UK service personnel deployed before December 2005 is not held centrally on a month to month basis and only an average for the year can be provided. These data have not been statistically verified.
	
		
			   Average number of UK personnel in Afghanistan 
			 2005 970 
			 2004 660 
			 June-December 2003 380

Army Personnel

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) established and  (b) actual strength is of (i) the Regular Army and (ii) the Territorial Army, broken down by cap badge.

Derek Twigg: The following table provides a breakdown, by cap badge, of the Regular Army strength against liability as at 1 August 2006. A detailed breakdown of Territorial Army posts by cap badge within unit establishments is not currently available; however strengths are given as follows against the overall Territorial Army liability of 42,000.
	
		
			   Regular Army  Territorial Army 
			  Arm/Service  Liability( 3)  Strength( 1)  Liability  Strength( 2) 
			 Total 97,710 96,460 42,000 36,260 
			  
			 Staff 720 820 — 100 
			 Household Cavalry/Royal Armoured Corps 5,760 5,460 — 1,260 
			 Royal Regiment of Artillery 7,510 7,240 — 2,280 
			 Corps of Royal Engineers 9,180 8,780 — 2,460 
			 Royal Corps of Signals 8,500 8,450 — 3,990 
			 Infantry 24,450 23,720 — 7,350 
			 Army Air Corps 2,060 2,010 — 100 
			 Royal Army Chaplains Department 150 140 — 60 
			 Royal Logistics Corps 15,720 15,590 — 6,060 
			 Royal Army Medical Corps 3,180 2,910 — 2,660 
			 Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 9,700 9,690 — 2,200 
			 Adjutant General's Corps 6,250 6,660 — 1,240 
			 Royal Army Veterinary Corps 210 190 — 10 
			 Small Arms School Corps 140 150 — 10 
			 Royal Army Dental Corps 420 360 — 60 
			 Intelligence Corps 1,650 1,480 — 500 
			 Army Physical Training Corps 430 450 — (4)— 
			 General List (4)— (4)— — 340 
			 Queen Alexandra's Royal Auxiliary Nursing Corps 1,190 840 — 1,030 
			 The Corps of Army Music 890 900 — (4)— 
			 Long Service List 600 620 — (4)— 
			 Officer Training Corps (4)— (4)— — 4,540 
			 (1 )Figures include trained Officers and Soldiers; full-time Reserve Service (full, limited and home Commitment) but exclude home service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment, mobilised reserves, Territorial Army and other reserves.  (2) TA Personnel include Group A & B, Mobilised TA and Officer Training Corps (OTC), and exclude non regular permanent staff and full-time Reserve Service.  (3) Liability is based on the Regular Army Liability 2006.  (4 )Represents zero of rounded to zero.   Notes:  1. The Adjutant General's Corps consists of: Adjutant General's Corps (Provost), Adjutant General's Corps (Staff & Personnel Support), Adjutant General's Corps (Education & Training Services) and Adjutant General's Corps (Army Legal Services).  2. All data have been rounded to the nearest 10. Due to the rounding methods used totals may not always equal the sum of the parts. Numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Boarding School Allowance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many children have been covered by the boarding school allowance for the  (a) Army,  (b) Royal Navy and  (c) Royal Air Force in each of the last five years, broken down by officers and other ranks; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Numbers of service children covered by continuity of education allowance as at spring term of each academic year 
			  Service  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Navy 1,281 1,326 1,357 1,435 1,377 
			 Army 4,383 4,356 4,405 4,374 4,289 
			 RAF 1,466 2,255 2,219 2,220 2,220 
			 Total 7,130 7,937 7,981 8,029 7,886 
		
	
	The above data cannot be separated out into officers and other ranks due to disproportionate cost.

Boarding School Allowance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent on boarding school allowance for the  (a) Army,  (b) Royal Navy and  (c) Royal Air Force in each of the last five years, broken down by officers and other ranks; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The sum paid annually in respect of service education allowances by the MOD, broken down by single-service is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Total spend on service education allowances for the last five years 
			  £ 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Navy 17,588,014 12,781,113 13,002,607 16,278,396 16,878,279 
			 Army 37,450,741 37,754,069 49,046,403 49,840,780 51,004,877 
			 RAF 16,388,267 22,515,029 24,381,279 24,653,301 25,813,795 
			 Total 71,438,022 73,050,211 86,429,289 90,772,477 93,696,951 
		
	
	The above data cannot be separated out into officers and other ranks.

Information Technology

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) originally estimated,  (b) most recently estimated and  (c) outturn cost was in each of the five largest information technology contracts agreed with outside suppliers over the last five years.

Adam Ingram: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Contract  Originally estimated cost (£ million)  Most recently estimated cost (£ million)  Outturn cost (£ million)  Comments 
			 Skynet 5 (Satellite Communication Services) 2,775 3,660 137 Expenditure does not include expenditure from other areas within the Department that call up SATCOM services. 'Most recent cost' reflects revised contract to include a third satellite and a fourth satellite in the event of the failure at the launch stage of one of the three satellites. Should there be no loss the cost will reduce to £3,273 million. 
			 Defence Information Infrastructure (Future) (DII(F)) 2,297 2,313 252 This relates to the Increment 1 contract only. Increments 2 and 3 have not yet been let. 
			 Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) 237 237 106 These estimates comprise all extramural costs for JPA and include the cost of personnel administration services using JPA up to the end of financial year 2008-09. Outturn costs cover extramural expenditure to the end of financial year 2005-06. 
			 Joint Asset Management and Engineering Solutions (JAMES) Up to 200 90 to 100 10 to 20 This includes JAMES 1 and 2, Whole Fleet Management and Engineering and Asset Management. 
			 Defence Medical Information Capability Programme (DMICP) 98 82 0 No outturn yet—contract placed in April 2006. 
			  Note: Purely voice communications systems are not considered to fall within the scope of the question.

Service Personnel

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the full complement is of  (a) doctors,  (b) nurses and  (c) dentists in the (i) Army, (ii) Royal Air Force and (iii) Royal Navy; how many are employed in each category; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The two key outputs of the Defence Medical Services (DMS) are medical support to deployed operations, and the provision of health care to the armed forces to ensure that the maximum possible numbers of armed forces personnel are fit for purpose. The DMS will continue to deliver both outputs, working where appropriate with coalition partners, the NHS, private health care providers and the charity sector. The DMS have met all operational requirements placed on them. Medical support to deployed operations is absolutely vital and there is no question of British forces deploying on military operations without the appropriate medical support.
	The current official, formally endorsed DMS manning requirement figures were drawn up as a consequence of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) in 1998. Since then, however, overall defence planning assumptions have changed and DMS manning requirement figures have evolved. In order to support the defence planning assumptions contained within Defence Strategic Guidance 03, the Defence Medical Capability (DMC) Phase 2 Study was carried out. The DMC study produced interim revised DMS manning requirement figures which more accurately reflect defence planning assumptions and have thus overtaken the SDR figures. Indeed, the Ministry of Defence has previously released elements of the interim revised manning requirements, in anticipation of a new definitive set of figures (as in a previous answer to the hon. Member for the Forest of Dean on 9 February 2006,  Official Report, column 1402W).
	However, the DMC figures are themselves only interim. The overall DMS manning requirement is currently under review against the strategic requirement, and the figures will change. I anticipate that new endorsed DMS manning requirement figures will be available later this year.
	The following table show the manning levels as at July 2006 in the specialties of general medical practitioners, nurses and dental officers (requirement figures shown are the SDR figures and the DMC figures, but as explained, these are being revised):
	
		
			SDR Requirement  DMC Requirement  Trained Strength 
			 General Medical Practitioners RN 71 54 53 
			  ARMY 250 120 130 
			  RAF 130 94 73 
			 Nurses RN 320 220 290 
			  ARMY 1,080 1,000 590 
			  RAF 490 450 420 
			 Dental Officers RN 58 62 57 
			  ARMY 140 120 130 
			  RAF 63 55 67 
			  Notes:  1. Figures above 100 have been rounded to the nearest 10.  2. Figures are the trained strength for each cadre in each service and include some specialists working out of specialty in headquarter posts.   Source:  DMSD

Departmental IT

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which IT contracts awarded by his Department in 2001-02 were subsequently abandoned; and what the value was of each such contract.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Angus (Mr. Weir) on 9 October 2006,  Official Report, column 285W.

Departmental Websites

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent by his Department on maintaining its websites in 2005-06; and how many visits each website received during this period.

John Healey: HM Treasury spent £135,592 maintaining its websites in the financial year 2005-06.
	Visits for each website during this period were as follows:
	
		
			  Site address  Visits 
			 www.hm-treasury.gov.uk 1,303,359 
			 www.thegfp.treasury.gov.uk(1) 14,266 
			 www.euro.gov.uk (3)550,000 
			 www.financialreporting.gov.uk (4—) 
			 www.financialinclusion-taskforce.org.uk(2) 6,901 
			 www.ges.gov.uk 114,664 
			 www.csren.gov.uk 19,209 
			 www.isb.gov.uk (4)— 
			 www.redbox.gov.uk 66,457 
			 www.stakeholdersaving.gov.uk 22,873 
			 (1 )Statistics from the date site was launched—October 2005.  (2) Statistics from the date site was launched—19 May 2005.  (3 )Approximate figure. (4 )No statistics recorded.

Population Statistics

Iain Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many births were registered in each local authority in the north east region in each of the last 10 years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 6 November 2006:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your question about how many births were registered in each local authority in the North East Region in each of the last 10 years. I am replying in her absence. (99857).
	The latest year for which figures are available is 2005. The numbers of births to women resident in each of the local authorities requested in the years 1996 to 2005 are shown in the attached table.
	
		
			  Table 1: Live births by area of usual residence, local and unitary authorities( 1)  in the north east government office region. 1996 to 2005 
			   1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Darlington UA 1,189 1,177 1,163 1,188 1,053 1,078 1,139 1,179 1,254 1,218 
			 Hartlepool UA 1,130 1,107 1,096 1,081 1,063 1,031 1,010 1,065 1,073 1,116 
			 Middlesbrough UA 1,937 1,919 1,802 1,827 1,781 1,666 1,695 1,786 1,849 1,916 
			 Redcar and Cleveland UA 1,705 1,602 1,559 1,490 1,365 1,432 1,357 1,446 1,509 1,577 
			 Stockton-on-Tees UA 2,226 2,107 2,097 2,066 1,963 1,942 2,016 2,115 2,117 2,241 
			 Chester-le-Street 640 687 659 600 595 523 551 540 536 537 
			 Derwentside 1,014 969 955 899 911 872 840 877 899 922 
			 Durham 835 831 829 857 780 715 801 790 806 788 
			 Easington 1,202 1,179 1,165 1,058 928 933 987 921 1,103 1,069 
			 Sedgefield 1,040 985 1,040 964 913 918 889 974 1,045 958 
			 Teesdale 227 247 230 223 216 183 185 188 229 193 
			 Wear Valley 743 702 683 661 644 624 647 639 726 722 
			 Alnwick 323 321 336 309 265 290 270 275 281 296 
			 Berwick-upon-Tweed 231 194 196 217 165 180 175 200 176 194 
			 Blyth Valley 955 928 921 921 866 883 807 868 865 975 
			 Castle Morpeth 459 463 429 407 372 378 382 379 396 368 
			 Tynedale 540 533 565 537 506 522 512 531 562 516 
			 Wansbeck 768 719 752 686 624 628 616 681 672 675 
			 Gateshead 2,300 2,327 2,162 2,109 2,070 1,995 2,012 2,020 2,128 2,118 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 3,249 3,188 3,034 2,879 2,887 2,875 2,941 2,895 2,918 2,979 
			 North Tyneside 2,179 2,145 2,171 2,006 2,052 1,949 2,042 2,101 2,160 2,274 
			 South Tyneside 1,761 1,763 1,653 1,643 1,521 1,479 1,467 1,523 1,540 1,529 
			 Sunderland 3,448 3,311 3,223 3,111 2,959 2,853 2,930 3,012 2,971 3,068 
			 Total north east 30,101 29,404 28,720 27,739 26,499 25,949 26,271 27,005 27,815 28,249 
			 (1) Figures relate to local and unitary authority area boundaries at 1 April in the year in which the birth was registered.   Source:  ONS Key Population and Vital Statistics, Local and Health Authority Areas, Series VS nos. 23-31 and Population Trends no. 124.

Population Statistics

Tom Watson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the mortality rates were for socio-economic categories  (a) I,  (b) II  (c) III,  (d) IV, and  (e) V in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 6 November 2006:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the mortality rates were for social classes (a) I, (b) II, (c) III, (d) IV and (e) V in each year since 1997. I am replying in her absence. (100061)
	Mortality rates by social class are calculated as three year averages. It is sometimes necessary to combine social classes, and to restrict the analysis to certain age groups, to produce reliable estimates. The table below provides, for men and women aged 35-64, the mortality rates in social classes (a) I and II combined, (b) III non-manual, (c) III manual, and (d) IV and V combined, in 1997-99 (the latest period available).
	
		
			  Table 1. Age-standardised mortality rates( 1)  by social class, men and women aged 35 to 64, England and Wales, 1997-99( 2,3) 
			  Deaths per 100,000 
			   Male  Female 
			  Social class  Mortality rate  95 per cent. confidence interval( 4)  Mortality rate  95 per cent. confidence interval 
			 I and II Professional and intermediate 347 (302-399) 237 (201-281) 
			 IIIN Skilled manual 417 (352-494) 253 (211-304) 
			 IIIM Skilled non-manual 512 (472-556) 327 (290-369) 
			 IV and V Partly skilled and unskilled 606 (546-672) 335 (289-388) 
			 (1) Age-standardised rates are used to allow comparison between populations which may contain different proportions of people of different ages.  (2) These figures are based on the ONS Longitudinal Study, a representative 1 per cent. sample of the population of England and Wales.  (3) Three year averages, based on deaths of members of the ONS Longitudinal Study in the years 1997-99 and the study population at risk of death during that period.  (4) Confidence intervals are a measure of the statistical precision of an estimate and show the range of uncertainty around the estimated figure. Calculations based on small numbers of events are often subject to random fluctuations. As a general rule, if the confidence interval around one figure overlaps with the interval around another, we cannot say with certainty that there is more than a chance difference between the two figures.

Departmental Secondments

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many BP employees are on secondment to her Department; what areas they are working on; on what terms; and how many BP employees have been on secondment to her Department in each year since January 2002.

Geoff Hoon: There are currently no BP employees on secondment to this Department. We have records of only one BP employee being on secondment since January 2002, and that secondment ended on 6 September 2002.

Departmental Staff

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 25 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1277W, on departmental staff (education), how many work experience placements were given to  (a) students and  (b) workers in each region of the UK in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Geoff Hoon: In 2006, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) offered work experience placements to 48 candidates. The total number of student placements was 43, while five candidates were not in full-time education. The regions listed refer to the home location of all candidates.
	
		
			  Region  Number 
			  Students  
			 Bristol 1 
			 London 14 
			 Devon 1 
			 Dorset 1 
			 Leicester 1 
			 Chigwell 1 
			 Middlesex 1 
			 Staffordshire 1 
			 Manchester 1 
			 Oxford 1 
			 Surrey 1 
			 Essex 1 
			 Kent 2 
			 York 1 
			 Jersey 1 
			 Edinburgh 1 
			 Bristol 1 
			 Lincolnshire 1 
			 Aberdeen 1 
			 Glasgow 1 
			 Coventry 1 
			 North Wales 1 
			 Buckinghamshire 1 
			 North Hants 1 
			 Berkshire 1 
			 Bath 3 
			   
			  Non students  
			 London 3 
			 Oxford 1 
			 Ilford 1 
		
	
	In 2005, the FCO offered work experience placements to 25 candidates. All candidates were students.
	
		
			  2005 
			  Region  Number 
			  Students  
			 Hainault 1 
			 London 6 
			 Co. Antrim 1 
			 Norfolk 1 
			 Gwynedd 1 
			 Berkshire 1 
			 Hertfordshire 1 
			 Kent 1 
			 Bath 3 
			 Middlesex 1 
			 Durham 1 
			 West Midlands 1 
			 Brighton 1 
			 Edinburgh 1 
			 Suffolk 1 
			 Harrow 1 
			 Manchester 1 
			 Cambridge 1 
		
	
	The FCO information management system does not hold information on the regional location of work experience candidates prior to 2005. Details on the number of candidates placed each year since 2001 are listed for reference.
	
		
			  Student  Number 
			 2004 33 
			 2003 30 
			 2002 39 
			 2001 52

Ministerial Responsibilities

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the ministerial responsibilities of her right hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield have changed since the publication of the List of Ministerial Responsibilities in June 2006; and whether he speaks for the Government on European matters in the House.

Margaret Beckett: The responsibilities of my right hon. Friend the Minister for Europe, Geoff Hoon, remain unchanged from those set out in the List of Ministerial Responsibilities in June 2006. Both he and I speak for the Government on European matters in the House as appropriate.

Terrorist Renditions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support the UK Government has given to the US Administration in facilitating the rendition of terrorist and other suspects since 1 May 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Government respect its obligations under UK and international law. We would not assist in any activity if to do so would put us in breach of UK law or our international obligations, including the UN Convention Against Torture.
	In respect of the allegations of transfer of persons through the UK, I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made by my right hon. Friend the then Foreign Secretary (Mr. Straw) on 20 January 2006,  Official Report, columns 37-38WS.

Coroners

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what arrangements will be made for periods when coroners' offices are closed for contacting the next-of-kin within 24 hours of a death being reported.

Harriet Harman: Coroners are currently expected to have arrangements in place to ensure a 24 hour, seven day a week service to deal with deaths reported to them, including liaison with bereaved relatives. To reflect this good practice, a requirement to contact the next-of-kin within 24 hours of a death being reported is included within the charter for bereaved people which accompanies the draft Bill on coroner reform. The charter is an "illustrative draft" and its content, including specific targets, will be the subject of further consultation.

Coroners

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what analysis was undertaken of the contracted hours and hours of overtime worked by  (a) full-time and  (b) part-time (i) coroners and (ii) coroners' officers in the preparation of the Coroners Reform Bill.

Harriet Harman: In England and Wales there are currently 32 full-time coroners, 86 part-time coroners and around 430 coroners' officers.
	The analysis of the impact on resources of the proposed legislation is set out in the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) that was published alongside the draft bill.
	As the RIA shows, we have concluded that the reform proposals will not materially increase the caseload of the service. Therefore, providing the coroner service is currently being resourced adequately by the relevant local authorities, there should be no requirement to increase the overall hours provided by coroners or coroners' officers in a particular area.
	As we further develop the detail of our proposals, we will be carrying out analysis on the options for new coroner areas, and in particular whether changes in geography affect this position significantly.

Coroners

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate has been made of the number of staff required to meet the additional commitments in the proposed Draft Charter for Bereaved People.

Harriet Harman: The charter included with the draft bill is an "illustrative draft" and as such its content, including specific targets, will be the subject of further consultation. However, when finalised, the charter is intended to represent a level of service that each area should deliver within current staff numbers, provided that local authorities are, at that time, resourcing the service adequately.

Coroners

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment has been made of the  (a) current workload and  (b) the expected workload under the proposed new arrangements in the Coroners Reform Bill of (i) coroners and (ii) coroners' officers.

Harriet Harman: Latest statistics show that, in total, coroners and coroners' officers dealt with 232,400 cases reported to them in 2005. The draft bill proposals do not, of themselves, produce any increase in overall caseload or workload.

Electoral Arrangements

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will place in the Library a copy of the presentation and handouts produced by her Department's head of electoral policy for his talk to the International Centre of Excellence in Local e-Democracy's conference in Budapest in July 2006.

Bridget Prentice: My Department's head of electoral policy attended the Budapest conference in July 2006 and participated in a debate entitled "Voting in our pyjamas—which channel is best?" This was a debate about the merits of different remote voting methods. He did not make a slide-based presentation or provide any handouts. However, I will place a copy of the notes that he used for his talk in the Library.

Parliamentary Boundaries

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the timetable is for ratification and implementation of the new parliamentary boundaries for England.

Bridget Prentice: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 24 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1775W, in relation to the timetable for laying the draft Order to give effect to the new English constituencies.
	The subsequent timing of debates on the draft Order and the making of the Order in Council are matters for the Parliamentary Business Managers and the Privy Council respectively.
	Once the Order is made, it does not take effect until the next general election thereafter.

Political Donations

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make a statement on the timetable for the end of double-reporting of donations by hon. Members.

Bridget Prentice: The Electoral Administration Act 2006 provides for the removal of the requirement for Members of the House of Commons to report a donation to the Electoral Commission, where it is received either in his capacity as a Member of the House of Commons or in his capacity as a member of a registered political party.
	Section 59(3) and 59(4) of the Electoral Administration Act 2006 provide that the Electoral Commission must be satisfied that the House of Commons has the necessary arrangements in place to meet the requirements of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 and the Secretary of State may not make a commencement order unless he is informed by the Commission that those arrangements are in place.
	The Department understands that the Electoral Commission and House of Commons authorities will be liaising closely in order to allow the Electoral Commission to make an assessment as to whether the House of Commons has the necessary arrangements in place to meet the requirements of the 2000 Act and—when appropriate—to recommend to the Secretary of State that the provisions of the 2006 Act may be commenced.

Department of Trade and Industry

David Laws: To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has for the future of the Department of Trade and Industry as a separate department of Government; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: The allocation of responsibilities across Government are kept under close review and changes to the machinery of government are made as and when necessary.

Departmental Telephone Numbers

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Prime Minister how many ministerial offices have 0870 telephone numbers on their headed notepaper; which are the ministries concerned; and what instructions are given to the switchboards of each such ministry about access to private offices.

Tony Blair: I refer my hon. Friend to the answers given by the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Boateng) to the hon. Member for New Forest, East (Dr. Lewis) on 16 December 2004,  Official Report, columns 1237-38W.

Minister for Europe

Keith Simpson: To ask the Prime Minister in what capacity his right hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield attends meetings of the Cabinet.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for North-West Cambridgeshire (Mr. Vara) on 18 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1140W.

Ministerial Code

Peter Bone: To ask the Prime Minister what arrangements are in place to allow hon. Members to report the Prime Minister for alleged failure to comply with the Ministerial Code.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight (Mr. Turner) on 9 October 2006,  Official Report, column 5W.

Ministerial Travel

Greg Pope: To ask the Prime Minister what steps he has taken to offset the carbon dioxide emissions caused by ministerial travel in his Office.

Tony Blair: I refer my hon. Friend to the answers given by my noble Friend the Lord Bassam of Brighton on 10 July 2006,  Official Report, column WA95, and 25 July 2006,  Official Report, columns WA265-66.

North Korea

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his oral answer of 25 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1518, if he will make a statement on his discussion with a senior Chinese official on North Korea's nuclear enrichment programme.

Tony Blair: I discussed a wide range of issues with the Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee, Jia Qinglin, during his recent visit, including North Korea's nuclear test and China's commitment to a denuclearised Korean peninsula. I also welcome the agreement in Beijing last week on North Korea's return to the 6 Party Talks.

Better Regulation for Civil Society

Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster by what date each recommendation of the Better Regulation Task Force's report, "Better Regulation for Civil Society"  (a) was implemented and  (b) is expected to be implemented in relation to voluntary organisations.

Edward Miliband: holding answer 20 October 2006
	The Government's formal response to the Better Regulation Task Force's report "Better Regulation for Civil Society" provides full details of how it is responding to each of the recommendations in the report. It is available on the Cabinet Office website at http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector/publications/index.asp. Copies have also been placed in the Library for the reference of Members and are also available in the Vote Office.

Departmental Expenditure

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much her Department has spent on accommodation and subsistence costs on visits  (a) for Ministers,  (b) for staff and  (c) in total (i) in the last 12 months and (ii) in each year since 1997.

Hilary Armstrong: Information for the Cabinet Office is not collected in the format requested. To provide a breakdown would incur disproportionate costs.
	Due to the way that accommodation and subsistence related costs are recorded on the Cabinet Office accounting system, it is not possible to extract the requested information from it.
	All official travel in the Department is undertaken strictly in accordance with the rules contained in the Cabinet Office Management Code. All ministerial travel related costs are undertaken fully in accordance with the rules set out in "The Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers", copies of which are available in the Library for the reference of Members.

Mandatory Retirement

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which Government departments have mandatory retirement ages for staff.

Patrick McFadden: Responsibility for the setting of retirement ages for staff below the Senior Civil Service is delegated to individual Departments under the Civil Service (Management Functions) Act 1992. The Cabinet Office does not maintain a record of those Departments which have chosen, as a result of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations, to introduce a mandatory retirement age for their staff below the Senior Civil Service.
	Retirement age for members of the Senior Civil Service is not delegated to Departments to decide on and is 65.

Official Residence

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on what date the Lord Chancellor moved into an official residence in Admiralty House.

Hilary Armstrong: My right hon. Friend the Lord Chancellor has been allocated one of the flats in Admiralty House. He will not take up residence but will use it for official entertaining and other engagements. The arrangements for the Lord Chancellor were effective from Monday 16 October 2006.

Official Residence

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on what date the right hon. Member for Ashfield moved out of his official Ministerial residence in Admiralty House.

Hilary Armstrong: My right hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Mr. Hoon) vacated his official Ministerial residence in Admiralty House on Friday 30 June 2006.

Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent estimate she has made of the  (a) rate and  (b) annual cost of employer contributions in each public sector pension scheme for which her Department has responsibility; and if she will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: Employer contribution rates for Members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PSCPS) are assessed for each of four ranges of pay levels and are set at a level, which together with employee contributions is intended to meet the costs of benefits accruing in the year. This approach is set out in Resource Accounts 2005-06 of Cabinet Office: Civil Superannuation, a copy of which is available in the Library for the reference of Members. The current employer contribution rates expressed as a percentage of pensionable pay are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Salary band (£)  Rate of employer contribution as a percentage of pensionable pay 
			 18,500 and under 17.1 
			 18,501 to 38,000 19.5 
			 38,001 to 65,000 23.2 
			 65,001 and over 25.5 
		
	
	The average employer contribution is estimated at 19.4 per cent. of pensionable pay. A higher rate, of 26.5 per cent. of pensionable pay, is payable by the Prison Service for prison officers employed before September 1987 and who are entitled to enhanced benefits. The total employer contributions for 2006-07 are estimated at £2.6 billion.
	Most civil servants joining the civil service on or after Tuesday 1 October 2002 can, as an alternative to joining the PCSPS, opt for a partnership pension account which is a stakeholder arrangement with an age-related employer contribution varying between 3 per cent. and 12.5 per cent. of pensionable pay. In addition, the employer will match individual contributions up to a maximum of 3 per cent. of pay. In 2005-06, employers contributed a total of £7.7 million to partnership pension accounts.

SCOPE Programme

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the objectives are of the business change programme SCOPE; and what its  (a) cost and  (b) benefits have been to date.

Hilary Armstrong: SCOPE is an information systems enabled programme to improve collaboration across the intelligence community. It is not the practice to publish the costs of intelligence-related programmes. They are subject to scrutiny by the Intelligence and Security Committee whose reports are available in the Library for the reference of Members.

Special Advisers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 30 January 2006,  Official Report, columns 63-64W, how many special advisers work within her Department; and if she will make a statement.

Hilary Armstrong: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 24 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 86WS.

Strategy Unit

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the total expenditure by the Strategy Unit  (a) was in the past 12 months and  (b) has been since it was established.

Hilary Armstrong: Strategy Unit costs for 2005-06 were £3,348,000. For Strategy Unit costs in each year since its establishment up to and including 2004-05, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend, the then Parliamentary Secretary in the Cabinet Office (Jim Murphy), on 27 February 2006,  Official Report, column 43W.

Accidents (Electrical Equipment)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many fatalities there were in each of the last five years due to home accidents caused by use or misuse of electrical equipment and electrical installations.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I have been asked to reply.
	The numbers of fatalities over the last five years are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Fatalities due to home accidents in Great Britain caused by use or misuse of electrical equipment and electrical installations 
			   Number of home accidents 
			 2001-02 (1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002) 4 
			 2002-03 (1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003) 5 
			 2003-04 (1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004) 3 
			 2004-05 (1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005) 10 
			 2005-06 (1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006) 13

Aviation Noise

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will assist local authorities to enforce restrictions on aviation noise from small airfields.

Gillian Merron: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government consulted on this proposal in their publication "Control of Noise from Civil Aircraft" before "The Future of Air Transport White Paper" in 2003. Our conclusion, following consultation, was that such involvement of local authorities in small airports' noise control measures would be too bureaucratic. Not all local authorities in which an airport is situated would be resourced to take a fully informed view of an airport's proposals; there may also be conflicts between the interests of the authority that played host to the airport, and other neighbouring authorities whose residents were also affected by the presence of the airport.
	However, it is possible for airports voluntarily to enter into binding agreements with local authorities.

Back Gardens

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have prevented building in back gardens through their local development framework.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 31 October 2006
	It is for local planning authorities to develop, through their local development frameworks, appropriate policies which set out the criteria against which planning applications for the development and use of land and buildings will be considered. This could include specific policies relating to where proposals involve development of existing residential areas, which could include associated land such as back gardens, but information on all the local planning authorities which have such a policy is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Casinos

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what meetings planning Ministers have had with casino operators and their associates since January 2003; and who the attendees were in each case.

Meg Munn: There have been two meetings of planning Ministers and casino operators:
	6 May 2004—My right hon. Friend the former Minister for Housing and Planning (Keith Hill MP) met Lloyd Nathan, European Managing Director of MGM, with officials to discuss planning policy for casinos generally.
	28 November 2004—My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister visited the Star City Casino, Sydney for which I refer the hon. Member to the Deputy Prime Minister's answer of 19 July 2006,  Official Report, column 301.
	In relation to meetings with associates of casino operators, there have been a number of meetings with representatives of Anschutz in connection with the Dome. Those involving the Deputy Prime Minister were set out in the letter appended to the Memorandum to the Committee of Standards. Keith Hill was also present at a meeting between the Deputy Prime Minister and officials and representatives of Anshutz in June 2003. In addition, Tony McNulty and officials met representatives of Anshutz in January 2003. But none of these Ministers were planning Ministers for the Dome and related developments.

Commission for Equality and Human Rights

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representation she plans for the  (a) Hindu and  (b) Sikh community on the Commission for Equality and Human Rights.

Meg Munn: The first round of appointments of Commissioners to the Commission for Equality and Human Rights will be made shortly. Ministers expect the Commission to take an inclusive approach and reach out into all faith communities in the UK. The recruitment process for Commissioners has always been built on the premise that Commissioners will work in a collegiate manner, and that the body as a whole should have understanding of the functions of the Commission and especially of human rights and discrimination matters, including discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief. It has never been the intention for individual Commissioners to represent particular groups.

Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford of 24 July on behalf of Mr Peter Lawrence; what the reasons are for the delay in replying; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The letter which the hon. Member refers to was replied to on 2 November. I agree that we have taken longer than I would have wished to respond and apologise to both the hon. Member and Mr. Lawrence for this.

Council Rents

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average total rent paid by council tenants was in 2004-05; and what estimate he has made of the average amount spent per council tenant on repairs and services in that year.

Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
	Subsidy expenditure in relation to council homes includes major repairs and capital charges (e.g. interest and repayments on borrowing for previous housing investment and building), as well as ongoing management and maintenance.
	The overall assumed in-year totals used for subsidy purposes are as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 Assumed rental income 5,722 
			  Less:  
			 Management and maintenance 3,082 
			 Major repairs 1,389 
			 Capital charges 1,205 
			 ALMO allowance 86 
			 Other allowances 82 
			 Deficit funded by Exchequer 122 
		
	
	Average rent per household reported by councils for 2004-05 was £2,868.13. This is an unaudited figure. Average expenditure per house on repairs and maintenance reported by councils was £805.28. This does not include management, major repairs or decent homes refurbishments. Nor does it include the capital charges against debt or borrowing that may have been used to find the building of the homes in the first place.

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 23 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1658W, on council tax rebates, whether such rebates referred to are only available to householders who purchase their gas or electricity from a Centrica-owned energy company.

Phil Woolas: The operation of any council rebate scheme for householders taking energy efficiency measures is entirely a matter for the local authority concerned. The Department for Communities and Local Government does not hold information about the basis on which individual schemes operate.

Departmental Expenditure

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the  (a) Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and  (b) the private office of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister spent on alcohol and hospitality in 2005-06.

Angela Smith: The following table sets out the expenditure on hospitality for the former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) and ODPM Private Offices in 2005-06.
	
		
			   Amount (£) 
			  (a) Total ODPM hospitality spend 54,932 
			  of which:  
			  (b) ODPM Private Offices 20,646 
		
	
	The totals include £8,563 spent on hospitality by the Deputy Prime Minister's Private Office.
	Hospitality expenditure in the former ODPM was incurred when officials had provided meals/refreshments to ODPM stakeholders.
	The Department's finance system did not identify expenditure on alcohol separately. This could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	All expenditure on official entertainment was made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting.

Departmental Expenditure

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost to the public purse was of the Deputy Prime Minister's 2005 Sustainable Communities Summit.

Yvette Cooper: The net cost to the Department was £331,252. The total cost of holding the Sustainable Communities Summit 2005 was just over £2.8 million, while revenues from delegate fees and sponsorship were approximately £2.5 million.
	The summit, hosted by the Deputy Prime Minister, was the biggest event of its kind ever held in this country. Some 2,000 delegates from over 150 organisations in the public, private and voluntary and community sectors took part, showcasing how they are working together to create sustainable communities and sharing in the expertise and experience of a range of international speakers.
	The Summit House helped elicit over 200 expressions of interest in EP's Design for Manufacture Competition, which showed how we can develop high quality housing for a construction cost of £60,000 or less per home, while also placing sustainable communities on the international agenda during the UK European presidency.

Departmental Expenditure

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government who her Department funded to attend the conference on the internet and democracy in Budapest in July; and what criteria were used to select those delegates.

Angela Smith: The Department did not directly fund any delegates to attend the event, the International eDemocracy symposium in Budapest 26-28 July. However, sponsored delegates were invited and paid for by the International Centre for Local eDemocracy (ICELE), which will largely be funded by DCLG until March 2008. ICELE is the successor to the former Local eDemocracy National Project which was established and funded by the Department's Local eGovernment Programme.
	Most of the symposium costs were covered by delegate fees and sponsorship by a number of organisations including the Council of Europe, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Serco, Tata Consulting and the Department.
	Delegates invited to attend the event at ICELE's expense were either conference speakers/workshop leaders (for example, a delegation from the UK Youth Parliament) or opinion formers within local government (for example, councillors who are active bloggers). These delegates were chosen by the conference organisers.

Departmental IT

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which databases operated by her Department are located  (a) wholly and  (b) partly outside the UK; and where each of those databases and parts of databases is located.

Angela Smith: The Planning Portal and the Public Enquiries Service (PES) use modules from a Customer Relationship Management package; the application and associated data are hosted in the USA under "Safe Harbor" status. The PES data will be migrated to a UK-based repository in the first quarter of 2007.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff in her Department received bonus payments in each of the last five years for which information is available; what proportion of the total work force they represented; what the total amount of bonuses paid has been; what the largest single payment was in each year; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) was not created until 5 May 2006. Available information, for the most recent year, is as follows:
	92 or 61 per cent. of permanent senior civil servants (SCS) received an award in respect of overall performance, totalling £630,000. Performance awards are an intrinsic part of the SCS pay system. The largest award was £12,500.
	503 or 28 per cent. of non-SCS staff received an award in respect of overall performance, totalling £170,000. Awards were subject to a maximum payment of between £150 to £600, depending on grade.
	301 or 17 per cent. of staff received an award in respect of exceptional performance on a specific task or at a specific time, totalling £105,000. These awards are subject to a general maximum payment of £600.
	DCLG is committed to rewarding good performance and aim to increase performance awards available to non-SCS staff.

Empty Dwellings

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many full-time equivalent staff in her Department work on policy relating to empty dwelling management orders.

Yvette Cooper: Work that arises on policy in relation to empty dwelling management orders is dealt with as part of the work of one full time equivalent post within the Department.

Facilities for Disabled People

John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total amount available from her Department to local authorities in the South East for disabled facilities grants was in 2006-07; how much was bid for by each local authority; how much has been allocated to each local authority; and what use will be made by her Department of any under spend.

Yvette Cooper: The total allocation of grant to local authorities in the South East for the disabled facilities grant programme (DFG) in 2006-07 was £19.962 million. This compares with a total bid for resources from those authorities of £21.093 million. The table gives the details for each authority.
	There is provision in the DFG financial management system for local authorities to carry over any under spend from one year to another if this is due to programme slippage and they can satisfy their auditors that this slippage can be made good in future years. There is also provision for a local authority who cannot meet this condition to refund the grant to the Department. As the DFG programme is ring-fenced any such refund will be re-allocated to other authorities who can demonstrate a need for additional resource for their DFG programme. Any such re-allocation will be made in close consultation with the Government offices.
	
		
			  LA name  2006-07 DFG bid (£000)  DFG 2006-07 allocations (£000) 
			 Adur 180 180 
			 Arun 450 450 
			 Ashford 216 216 
			 Aylesbury Vale 276 276 
			 Basingstoke and Deane 390 390 
			 Bracknell Forest 156 156 
			 Brighton and Hove 495 495 
			 Canterbury 339 339 
			 Cherwell 375 375 
			 Chichester 435 435 
			 Chiltern 240 240 
			 Crawley 252 252 
			 Dartford 180 180 
			 Dover 222 222 
			 East Hampshire 300 300 
			 Eastbourne 300 300 
			 Eastleigh 315 315 
			 Elmbridge 339 284 
			 Epsom and Ewell 357 207 
			 Fareham 159 159 
			 Gosport 126 126 
			 Gravesham 465 312 
			 Guildford 192 192 
			 Hart 180 162 
			 Hastings 420 420 
			 Havant 600 488 
			 Horsham 375 296 
			 Isle of Wight 480 480 
			 Lewes 242 242 
			 Maidstone 210 210 
			 Medway 540 540 
			 Mid Sussex 228 228 
			 Milton Keynes 375 375 
			 Mole Valley 142 142 
			 New Forest 254 254 
			 Oxford 360 360 
			 Portsmouth 528 528 
			 Reading 390 390 
			 Reigate and Banstead 390 340 
			 Rother 240 240 
			 Runnymede 300 224 
			 Rushmoor 240 211 
			 Sevenoaks 342 342 
			 Shepway 246 246 
			 Slough 370 354 
			 South Bucks 120 120 
			 South Oxfordshire 480 480 
			 Southampton 540 540 
			 Spelthorne 250 250 
			 Surrey Heath 239 162 
			 Swale 720 512 
			 Tandridge 120 120 
			 Test Valley 375 313 
			 Thanet 450 450 
			 Tonbridge and Malling 276 276 
			 Tunbridge Wells 180 180 
			 Vale of White Horse 423 423 
			 Waverley 210 210 
			 Wealden 273 273 
			 West Berkshire 324 324 
			 West Oxfordshire 192 192 
			 Winchester 270 270 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 270 270 
			 Woking 180 180 
			 Wokingham 330 284 
			 Worthing 360 360 
			 Wycombe 300 300 
			 Total (£ million) 21,093 19,962

Gasworks Redevelopment

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total cost to public funds has been of the redevelopment of the Old Gasworks site at the corner of Harford Street and Ben Jonson Road, London E1; and what contributions have come from each source of public funds in each relevant year.

Yvette Cooper: The Department for Communities and Local Government have provided public funding for the development in the form of social housing grant via the Housing Corporation to provide over 500 new homes of mixed tenure, being developed by two Registered Social Landlords (RSLs)—Newlon Housing Association and East Thames Housing Association. The total social housing grant agreed by the Housing Corporation is £24,824,911, with the remainder of the funding for this housing programme coming from the RSLs' own reserves. £16,625,925 of this has been paid to date: £7,549,212 in 2003-04, less £24,105 reclaimed in 2004-05 and £9,100,818 in 2005-06.
	In addition to the above, £12,350 of New Deal for Communities money has been spent undertaking feasibility work relating to the potential development of a multi-purpose community facility, incorporating key Primary Care Trust activities, along with facilities for training, employment and enterprise activities. This breaks down to £12,075 in 2005-06 and a further £275 in this financial year.

Home Condition Reports/Information Packs

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the Government's planned expenditure is for the home information packs public relations and marketing campaign.

Yvette Cooper: The total communications budget for the HIP Programme in 2006-07 is £2.6 million (excl. VAT). This is to ensure that the public and those working in the home buying and selling industry understand the changes that are being made and the benefits they will bring to consumers and the environment. It includes expenditure to support the area trials and includes information for estate agents, information about energy performance certificates and facts for home buyers and sellers.

Home Condition Reports/Information Packs

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath of 9 October 2006,  Official Report, column 382W, on Home Information Packs, what the estimated full-time equivalent number of individuals required to satisfy demand is.

Yvette Cooper: The estimated number of qualified home inspectors required after June 2007 to satisfy demand, on a full time equivalent basis would be approximately 2,200. Based on the range of current industry working practises, this means between 2,500 to 4,500 individual Home Inspectors would be required.

Home Condition Reports/Information Packs

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 2 October 2006,  Official Report, column 2535W, on Home Information Packs, whether her Department has produced estimated costs of a Home Condition Report in London.

Yvette Cooper: The price of the pack will be determined by the market, not Government. For the purposes of preparing the RIA published in June we have assumed that costs will be similar to costs currently charged for similar products, although we expect competition and innovation will lead to a reduction in these prices.
	The full Home Condition Report (HCR) will be similar in content the existing mid-range survey on the market, The Homebuyers Survey and Valuation, which costs about £400 plus VAT on average across the country as a whole. The actual cost of the HCR will be determined by the market and this will depend, as now, on the size, condition and location of the property. We expect competition in the market to ensure that costs are held down.

Home Improvement Agencies

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the status is of the national contract to act as the co-ordinating body for home improvement agencies; and what plans she has to renew it.

Yvette Cooper: The contract is currently held with Foundations who act as the national coordinating body for Home Improvement Agencies. A decision will be taken shortly as to how best to continue to support a national coordinating body when the existing contract period expires. This is still the subject of procurement discussions and, further to these, we hope to be able to make a decision in November.

Home Inspectors

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many home inspectors are in training.

Yvette Cooper: According to the figures supplied by assessment centres, as at the 5 October, there were 4,180 home inspectors in training. This excludes those who had completed training.

Home Inspectors

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the most recent figures are for the number of home inspectors who are now  (a) qualified and  (b) in training.

Yvette Cooper: The most recent figures, as at 5 October, supplied by assessment centres show that:
	 (a) there are 500 home inspectors who have completed their training, of whom 190 have now been issued with their certificate
	 (b) there were 4,180 candidates still in training.

Honours

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authority councillors received a Commander of the British Empire award between May 1997 and November 2006, broken down by political party affiliation.

Phil Woolas: Records in the Department for Communities and Local Government showing the number of CBE awards made to local authority councillors for services to local government in England and Wales are available from 2001. In the period from the new year 2001 to the Queen's birthday 2006 lists, 15 such awards were made. National honours to local authority councillors are awarded for the contribution the individual has made to the local community. The individual's party political affiliation is not taken into account in assessing potential candidates for honours.

Housing

Michael Gove: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what proportion of new housing built on brownfield sites in the 12 months to 1 April was built on garden or playing field sites;
	(2)  what assessment has been made of the change in the amount of garden space in urban and suburban areas since May 1997.

Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested on gardens is not available centrally. The extent of garden space compared to cartilage of previous building is not recorded in land use change statistics on development of previously developed land.
	Outdoor recreation is classified as an undeveloped use, not as brownfield. In 2004 2 per cent. of new dwellings were provided on land that was previously outdoor recreation down from 4 per cent. in 1994 and 3 per cent. in 1997. Planning policy on open space and recreation is set out in planning Policy Guidance Note 17 (PPG17) (July 2002) which states that existing open space, sports and recreational building and land should not be built on unless an assessment has been undertaken which has clearly shown the open space or the buildings and land to be surplus to requirement. In addition new investment has brought other kinds of brownfield land back into use for outdoor recreation.

Housing

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many projected additional households are attributable to each of the principal factors generating additional households in each year from 2003 to 2026.

Yvette Cooper: An analysis of the components of growth in household numbers as projected by the 2003-based household projections produced by the Department for Communities and Local Government is tabulated. Household growth has been split into the four principal factors generating additional households. The changes are best viewed over several years as tabulated.
	The factors are:
	(a) the projected growth of the total adult private household population;
	(b) the change in the age structure of the population;
	(c) changes in the marital status of the population, including proportions cohabiting, as well as legal marital status; and
	(d) changes in household formation rates specific for age, sex, legal marital status and cohabitation.
	The table includes a "remainder" column, which shows the change due to interaction between the components, for instance, the combined effect of increasing population and changes in the age distribution.
	
		
			  Components of the projected increase in households 2003-26: England 
			  Thousand 
			   Adult population  Age structure  Marital status  Household formation rates  Remainder  Total 
			 2003-06 410 19 -15 160 6 580 
			 2006-11 690 144 -18 249 16 1,081 
			 2011-16 607 294 -2 223 16 1,139 
			 2016-21 582 292 -7 195 15 1,076 
			 2021-26 507 255 -7 168 9 932 
			  Source: 2003-based household projections (DCLG and APU)

Housing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent on affordable housing in each of the last 20 years.

Yvette Cooper: The following table shows the amount of expenditure through the Housing Corporation on affordable housing since 1992-93. This does not include expenditure through English Partnerships for example on the first time buyers initiative or the London Wide initiative. Nor does it include investment in affordable housing through section 106 agreements.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Affordable Housing Programme  Local Authority Social Housing Grant  Safer Communities Supported Housing Fund  Starter Home Initiative  Other  Total 
			 1992-93 2,284 399 0 0 21 2,704 
			 1993-94 1,761 443 0 0 33 2,238 
			 1994-95 1,441 372 0 0 46 1,859 
			 1995-96 1,112 370 0 0 41 1,523 
			 1996-97 1,007 349 0 0 23 1,380 
			 1997-8 667 363 0 0 60 1,090 
			 1998-9 603 335 0 0 129 1,067 
			 1999-2000 635 328 0 0 180 1,143 
			 2000-01 727 400 0 0 103 1,230 
			 2001-02 799 410 9 2 13 1,233 
			 2002-03 925 499 27 67 11 1,529 
			 2003-04 1,590 249 27 172 16 2,054 
			 2004-05 1,600 35 11 7 18 1,671 
			 2005-06 (1) 1,599 23 2 0 9 1,632 
			 2006-07 (2) 1,958 0 0 0 20 1,841 
			 2007-08 (2) 1,945 0 0 0 20 2,015 
			 (1) Provisional(2) Forecast 
		
	
	This table represents the investment the Government have made via the Housing Corporation to registered social landlords for the provision and repair of affordable housing for both rent and low cost home ownership.

Housing

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 4 September 2006,  Official Report, column 1664W, on housing, 
	(1)  in which local authority areas transactions have been completed under the Social HomeBuy scheme; and how many transactions have been completed in each area;
	(2)  which  (a) housing associations and  (b) local authorities participate in the Social HomeBuy scheme;
	(3)  how many housing associations are participating in the Social HomeBuy scheme;
	(4)  how many social tenants are eligible for the Social HomeBuy scheme.

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many completed transactions of the sale or part-sale of homes have taken place under the Social Homebuy scheme.

Yvette Cooper: The Social HomeBuy scheme is a new programme for secure and assured tenants of participating local authorities and housing associations. To qualify individuals must have been public sector tenants for at least two years (five years for tenancies granted on or after 18 January 2005).
	Four housing associations (Notting Hill Housing Trust, Guinness Trust, Sovereign Housing Group and Places for People) and one local authority, the London borough of Southwark has begun to pilot the new Social HomeBuy scheme. The pilots were launched in late 2005 by inviting expressions of interest. The next stage was for landlords to supply key information to the potential purchasers who had expressed an interest on property values and likely costs, so that they could decide whether they wished to make a formal application. The first applications and sales are now starting to come through. Transactions typically take longer than house sales because landlords also carry out affordability checks to ensure purchasers can sustain home ownership. Over 150 applications are in the pipeline, with five sales completed and more expected shortly.
	Of the five sales completed so far, three have been in the London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, one was in the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the remaining one was in Chorley in Lancashire.
	A further 38 housing associations intend to offer the Social HomeBuy scheme from April 2007. The names of these housing associations are set out as follows. In addition the Housing Corporation announced details on 13 October of a further bidding round for housing associations to be funded to offer the scheme which will start on 30 October. A number of local authorities in London and elsewhere are also working up plans for pilots.
	 RSLs offering Social HomeBuy in 2006-08
	 London region
	Broomleigh Housing Association
	Catalyst Housing Group
	Circle Anglia
	Dominion Housing Group
	Downland Housing Association
	Family Housing group
	Gallions Housing Association
	Genesis Housing Group
	London and Quadrant
	Metropolitan Housing Partnership
	Moat Housing Group
	Mosaic Housing Association Ltd.
	Notting Hill Housing Group
	Peabody Trust
	Places for People Group
	Presentation Housing Association
	Southern Housing Group
	 Region—South East
	Sentinel
	Testway Housing
	Southern Housing Group
	Places for People
	Moat
	Sovereign Housing Association
	Aldwyck
	Dominion Housing Group
	Oxford Citizens Housing Association
	 Region—East of England
	Aldwyck
	Genesis
	Nene Housing Society
	 Region—South West
	Western Challenge
	Evesham and Pershore Housing Ass.
	Gloucestershire Housing Association
	Somer Community Housing Trust
	Devon and Cornwall Housing Association
	Knightstone Housing Association Ltd.
	Sovereign Housing Group
	 Region—East Midlands
	Places for People
	Nene Housing Society
	 Region—West Midlands
	Bromford
	Evesham and Pershore
	Mercian
	West Mercia
	 Region—North East
	Places for People
	Three Rivers Housing Association
	 Region—North West
	CDS Housing Association Ltd.
	Cosmopolitan
	Greater Hornby
	Places for People
	William Sutton Housing Association
	Riverside
	Knowsley Housing Trust
	 Region—Yorkshire and Humber
	Places for People Group
	William Sutton
	Joseph Rowntree Foundation
	 Early pilots—most regions
	Notting Hill Housing Group
	Places for People
	Sovereign Housing Association
	Guinness

Housing

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of social housing provided in the south east of England is allocated to  (a) asylum seekers,  (b) foreign nationals who have indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom and  (c) foreign nationals who have further leave to remain in the United Kingdom.

Yvette Cooper: Information on the allocation of local authority dwellings is collected quarterly on the Department for Communities and Local Government's P1(E) form. Between April and June 2006 (the most recent quarter for which data is available), 60 out of the 67 authorities in the south eastern region reported data. Data on lettings by Registered Social Landlords is not collected by these categories of foreign nationals.
	 (a) Asylum seekers are not eligible for social housing.
	 (b) Between April and June 2006, local authorities in the south east region reported 14 out of an estimated 2,855 total new local authority lettings when to foreign nationals who had refugee status or indefinite leave to remain.
	 (c) There is no specific class of eligibility for social housing for persons granted further leave to remain. However, persons granted exceptional leave to remain, discretionary leave or humanitarian protection will be eligible to be housed. Between April and June 2006, local authorities in the south east region reported three out of an estimated 2,855 total new local authority lettings went to foreign nationals who remained here on grounds of either exceptional leave to remain, discretionary leave or humanitarian protection.
	The most recent data available on "total" new LA lettings comes from the Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix, and is for 2004-05. There is estimated to have been a total of 2,855 new LA lettings in a quarter.

Housing

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the potential effect on the housing market of a shortage of Energy Performance Certificate inspectors.

Yvette Cooper: The Department has estimated that between 2,500 and 4,500 inspectors will be needed to produce Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) together with voluntary home condition reports for marketed residential sales when EPCs become mandatory in June 2007. There are reported to be 4,470 home inspector candidates who are either in, or have completed their training.
	A report commissioned by the former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and carried out by National Energy Services concluded that there is also a potential pool of suitably skilled individuals prepared to undergo training and become qualified as domestic energy assessors, who could produce EPCs. Training courses offering such a qualification are expected to be available in early 2007, with candidates able to qualify in time for June 2007. Therefore there are plenty of available candidates to prevent a shortage or any impact on the market.

Housing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many shared equity homes have been  (a) built and  (b) made available on the market in Coventry South in each of the last three years.

Yvette Cooper: The following table shows homes provided through shared equity in Coventry in each of the last three years via the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme and Local Authority Social Housing Grant. This information requested is not available at constituency level.
	
		
			   Shared Ownership  Open Market Purchase 
			 2003-04 4 7 
			 2004-05 10 0 
			 2005-06 0 7 
			  Source: Housing Corporation 
		
	
	Shared Ownership includes both new build and those acquired and refurbished.
	Allocations provided through the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme 2006-08 are expected to deliver 123 new build HomeBuy (formerly shared ownership) units in Coventry.
	This does not include any shared ownership homes funded entirely by section 106.

Housing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of homes built in Coventry South since 1997 have been affordable social housing.

Yvette Cooper: Since 1 April 1997, 25 per cent. of all dwellings built in Coventry have been for affordable housing (social rent and low cost home ownership). Information specific to the Coventry South constituency is not held centrally.

Housing

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many children are living in households which are statutorily overcrowded in  (a) Luton,  (b) Bedfordshire and  (c) England.

Yvette Cooper: Reliable estimates of overcrowding based on the statutory standard are not available because the underlying data are not collected systematically. A one-off estimate was made in 2003 that there were approximately 20,000 households across the whole of England that were in conditions of overcrowding that breached the statutory standard. This estimate was based on data from the "Survey of English Housing" for the period 2000-01 to 2002-03 and from the 2001 "English House Condition Survey". However, no further estimate was made of how many children were living in these 20,000 households.
	Estimates of the number of households in Luton, Bedfordshire and the whole of the United Kingdom that are statutorily overcrowded are also not available.

Housing

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much gap funding has been provided for stock transfer of council homes to registered social landlords; from which of her Department's budgets this funding was drawn; and how much additional gap funding local authorities have requested in the latest transfer round.

Yvette Cooper: £182 million has been made available for gap funding over the period of the SR2004, up to 2007-08. We have entered into 13 gap funding agreements with RSLs up to the value of £203 million for periods of up to 10 years. Since March 2005 to 31 October 2006, payments totalling £21.4 million have been made from the Department's Capital DEL budget under these arrangements.
	We received applications for places on the 2006 Housing Transfer Programme for 23 schemes from 15 authorities where the negative valuation totals around minus £700 million and gap funding arrangements may be required.

Housing

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  which  (a) individuals,  (b) authorities and  (c) other organisations have responded to her Department's discussion paper, Tackling Overcrowding in England; and if she will place copies of the responses in the Library;
	(2)  when she expects to make a statement on the new standard she plans to introduce to measure statutory overcrowding.

Yvette Cooper: We have received over 100 responses to our discussion paper 'Tackling Overcrowding in England'. My officials are currently reviewing these responses. We expect to shortly publish the Government's response, and will at the same time place copies of all responses to the discussion paper in the Libraries of the House, except in cases where confidentially has been requested.

Housing

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the funding required to enable those local authorities who face a shortfall in resources to meet the Decent Homes target.

Yvette Cooper: In order to bring in the investment needed to make all social housing decent, we provide additional ways to support local authorities who need additional funding to make their homes decent on top of the resources provided through the Housing Revenue Account.
	By 31 March 2008, £182 million will have been made available for gap-funded transfers, £3.7 billion for ALMOs and £2.7 billion for PFI schemes. Future levels of funding for gap-funded transfers and ALMOs are being negotiated as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review process.

Housing

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many shared equity homes have been  (a) built and  (b) made available on the market in (i) Chorley and (ii) Lancashire in each of the last three years.

Yvette Cooper: The following table shows homes provided via the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme and Local Authority Social Housing Grant through shared equity in both Chorley and Lancashire in each of the last three years.
	
		
			   Chorley  Lancashire( 1) 
			  2003-04   
			 Shared Ownership 4 79 
			 Open Market Purchase — — 
			
			  2004-05   
			 Shared Ownership 13 58 
			 Open Market Purchase — — 
			
			  2005-06   
			 Shared Ownership 19 62 
			 Open Market Purchase — 1 
			 (1) Lancashire, for the purposes of this response, includes the following local authorities: Burnley, Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, Ribble Valley, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire and Wyre. 
		
	
	Shared Ownership includes both new build and those acquired and refurbished.
	Allocations provided through the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme 2006-08 are expected to deliver six new build shared ownership units in Chorley and 221 new build shared ownership properties in Lancashire.

Housing

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government following the publication of Appendix 7 of Milton Keynes Partnerships MK2031 document outlining the proposals for the demolition of houses in Milton Keynes, how many houses she expects to be demolished within Milton Keynes.

Yvette Cooper: The Government are committed to increasing housing growth in Milton Keynes as detailed in the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub-Regional Strategy. Detailed decisions are a matter for Milton Keynes Partnership and Milton Keynes council. However, we are not aware they have any plans to demolish houses.

Housing

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of homes built in  (a) Oxfordshire and  (b) the Wantage constituency since 1997 have been affordable social housing.

Yvette Cooper: Since 1 April 1997, 22 per cent. of all dwellings built in Oxfordshire have been affordable social housing. Information specific to the Wantage constituency is not held centrally however 24 per cent. of all dwellings built since 1 April 1997 in the local authority 'Vale of White Horse' have been affordable social housing.

Housing

Laura Moffatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many extra houses are planned for the Crawley and Horsham area over the next 12 months.

Yvette Cooper: Crawley borough council projected figure for new housing building in the year 2006-07 is 269 units, and for the year 2007-08, is 384 units. Horsham district council projected figure for new housing building in the year 2006-07 is 406 units, and for the year 2007-08, is 410 units. These figures are taken from the annual monitoring report projected figures provided by the councils.

Housing

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what definition of overcrowding her Department uses in assessing housing shortages; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The current national statutory overcrowding standards (the Room Standard and the Space Standard) are set out in Part X of the Housing Act 1985 which restates standards that have remained unchanged since 1935. Under the Housing Act a dwelling is overcrowded if either of the standards is contravened:
	The Room Standard is breached if two people of opposite sexes who are not living together as husband and wife must sleep in the same room. Living rooms and kitchens as well as bedrooms can be treated as available sleeping accommodation. Children under 10 do not count.
	The Space Standard specifies the number of people who may sleep in a dwelling according to the number of rooms and their floor area. Two calculations are required and the lower number applies. Babies under one year do not count, and children under 10 count as half.
	The Government have recently consulted on updating the statutory standards. Recent estimates of overcrowding based on the statutory standard are not available because the underlying data is not collected systematically. A one-off estimate was made in 2003 that there were approximately 20,000 households across the whole of England that were in conditions of overcrowding that breached the statutory standard. This estimate was based on data from the Survey of English Housing for the period 2000-01 to 2002-03 and from the 2001 English House Condition Survey.
	The Bedroom Standard has been used as the statistical benchmark (for example, in the Survey of English Housing) for measuring overcrowding since the 1960s. It differs considerably from the statutory standards. About 525,000 households are currently overcrowded by the Bedroom Standard. This is about 2.5 per cent. of households.
	DCLG uses both the statutory standards, the bedrooms standards, as well as other indicators of housing stress, such as rates of temporary accommodation, to inform decisions about resources for additional housing supply.

Housing

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authority lettings have been made to nationals from the EU accession states since May 2004; and how many have received homelessness assistance in that period.

Yvette Cooper: A total of 128 local authority lettings have been made to households from the EU accession states since May 2004. These figures include households who have been in the UK since before May 2004. This comprises around 0.04 per cent. of total lettings to all new tenants over the 26 month period.
	524 households from the EU accession states have been accepted as eligible, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and consequently owed a main homelessness duty, since May 2004. This comprises around 0.2 per cent. of the total number of households accepted over the 26 month period.

Housing

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much  (a) revenue and  (b) capital funding has been spent on (i) new and (ii) existing social housing in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
	The following table shows, in total, how much local authorities have invested and plan to invest in their existing stock each year since 1997 through the Housing Revenue Account, the majority of which comes from central Government funding.
	
		
			  Housing Revenue Account 
			   £ million 
			 1997-98 1,563 
			 1998-99 1,660 
			 1999-2000 1,569 
			 2000-01 1,816 
			 2001-02 2,142 
			 2002-03 2,345 
			 2003-04 2,641 
			 2004-05 3,176 
			 2005-06 3,564 
			 2006-07 3,334 
			 2007-08 3,190 
			  Source:  Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA). 
		
	
	In addition, Government capital provision in affordable housing, both new and existing since 1997 is as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 1997-98 1,894 
			 1998-99 2,098 
			 1999-2000 2,173 
			 2000-01 2,866 
			 2001-02 2,696 
			 2002-03 2,943 
			 2003-04 3,964 
			 2004-05 4,135 
			 2005-06 5,223 
			 2006-07 5,347 
			 2007-08 5,665 
		
	
	The capital investment figures included expenditure through the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme. Information on how this funding was spent on social rented housing and on existing social housing is as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Expenditure on social rent provision  Expenditure on existing social rented housing 
			 1997-98 458.21 65.30 
			 1998-99 446.86 40.43 
			 1999-2000 522.95 34.43 
			 2000-01 576.47 59.62 
			 2001-02 647.16 67.42 
			 2002-03 761.69 44.80 
			 2003-04 1,174.81 53.70 
			 2004-05 1,050.03 46.85 
			 2005-06(1) 960 33.8 
			 2006-08(2) 2,820 59.4 
			 (1) Provisional.  (2) Estimate.   Notes: 1. Expenditure on social rent provision includes both new build and additions to the stock which are acquired and refurbished.  2. The figures for existing social housing include expenditure on major repairs and works to Registered Social Landlord stock.   Source:  Housing Corporation.

IT Projects

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many information technology projects her Department has undertaken in each year since 2001; how many of those projects were web-related.

Angela Smith: The Department for Communities and Local Government was created in May 2006. One information technology project has been initiated since that date; it is not web-related.

IT Projects

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many contracts for non-web related information technology projects with a value over £1 million have been awarded by her Department to external consultants since 2001.

Angela Smith: The Department of Communities and Local Government, was formed in May 2006. There are four non-web related contracts with a value of over £1 million.

Local Government

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she proposes a limit on the number of unitary authorities further to section 3.55 of the local government white paper.

Phil Woolas: As we made clear in paragraph 5.16 of the invitation to councils to make proposals for future unitary structures that was published alongside the Local Government White Paper, the Government think it will be unlikely to be able to implement more than eight proposals. However, the final decision on the number of proposals that will be implemented will depend crucially on the content of local authority submissions and the potential impact on public expenditure totals if these proposals were approved. This expected maximum number would not preclude the Government from deciding to implement more if they offered good value for money and were affordable.

London Borough of Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which projects are under consideration by her Department in the London Borough of Bexley.

Yvette Cooper: The Government office for London is currently negotiating a Local Area Agreement with the London borough of Bexley. The agreement will bring together funding streams from various Whitehall Departments. It offers Bexley the opportunity to work more flexibly to achieve its own locally agreed priorities and will include reward grant for enhanced performance in some of those priority areas.
	The Housing Corporation has allocated over £15 million in its 2006-08 housing programme to support schemes in the London borough of Bexley.
	Under our Thames Gateway programme Bexley is receiving £35 million over the period 2004-05 to 2007-08 to support a range of projects from town centre regeneration to managing marshland, and to fund the Bexley Regeneration Partnership. Further funding for a project to refurbish and renovate the Crossness pumping station is currently under consideration. English Partnerships is providing funding of £200,000 to support masterplanning on the Erith Western Gateway Project within the borough.
	The East Thamesmead Centre for Innovation is also receiving £2.5 million capital funding from the European Regional Development Fund between 2004-05 and 2006-07. The aims of the project include providing incubation space for new and expanding businesses, and accommodating an innovation and business development support service.

Muslim Council of Britain

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much  (a) financial support and  (b) support in kind her predecessor departments the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions and their agencies gave to the Muslim Council of Britain in each year since 1997.

Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 30 October 2006,  Official Report, column 46W, which sought details of financial support and support in kind given to the Muslim Council of Britain.
	Information from previous Departments is not held centrally and cannot be researched further without disproportionate cost.

Ocean Estate (Transfer Ballot)

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the costs were of the housing consultation exercise related to the recent stock transfer ballot on the Ocean Estate in London E1/E14 in each year since 2001; and by which organisations the costs will be met.

Yvette Cooper: The costs of the statutory consultation required under section 106 of and Schedule 3 A of the Housing Act 1985 are as follows:
	
		
			  (£) 
			  Costs incurred by:  London Borough of Tower Hamlets  Ocean NDC—covered by DCLG Grant 
			 2005-06 120,411 85,682(1) 
			 2006-07 23,003 27,604(1) 
			 (1) Estimated costs 
		
	
	Sanctuary Housing Association incurred costs of 297,838 on promotional activity during the formal consultation period.

Planning

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she plans to establish a national land database of public land available for alternative uses including housing.

Yvette Cooper: Following the publication of the sustainable communities plan in 2003, English Partnerships established a register of surplus public sector land held by central Government bodies and available for reuse. A web-based version of the register was established in 2005 as part of the electronic Property Information Mapping Service (e-PEMS) operated by the Office of Government Commerce. e-PIMS records information about properties owned and occupied by central Government. Work is under way to provide more comprehensive information on surplus public land.

Planning

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of her Department's guidance on propriety issues in handling planning casework.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 11 September 2006
	I have today placed a copy of the current "Guidance on Propriety Issues in Handling Planning Casework in DCLG" in the House Library. It is also available on the DCLG website at http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=l144571

Regeneration (Thames Gateway)

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether public sector funding bodies with responsibility for delivering new housing in the Thames Gateway plan to make their contribution conditional on defined high standards of design.

Yvette Cooper: The Government recognise that high quality housing design is a prerequisite for creating sustainable and cohesive communities. We have been working with members of the Thames Gateway Strategic Forum to promote high quality housing design and we will be announcing a package of measure to support this in the forthcoming Thames Gateway Interim Strategic Framework that will be published on 22 November 2006.
	In addition to this the Housing Corporation has established a Commission into Affordable Housing and Design Quality in the Thames Gateway. The aim of the Commission is to deliver a document that will specify design standards that will be applied to all new Corporation funded properties developed in the Thames Gateway.

Registered Social Landlords

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the value of the  (a) assets and  (b) surpluses of the 10 largest registered social landlords was in each of the last four years.

Yvette Cooper: The following table lists the largest 10 registered social landlords (RSLs) in each of the years from 2002 to 2006 together with the level of stock owned and managed, Net Book Value of their stock and their Surplus before Tax for each of the years.
	
		
			£000 
			   Owned and managed  Net book value  Surplus before tax 
			  2002
			 North British 44,852 687,258 5,903 
			 Anchor Trust 34,948 166,961 7,266 
			 Sanctuary Housing Association 32,825 481,300 6,584 
			 Home Group Limited 30,065 411,796 4,082 
			 Hyde 27,948 308,269 3,213 
			 Home Housing 1998 24,722 0 0 
			 Riverside 24,390 230,498 1,016 
			 Orbit 24,060 233,990 460 
			 London and Quadrant Housing Trust 23,229 360,802 12,828 
			 Paddington Churches Housing Association 22,636 272,466 5,722 
			 
			  2003
			 North British Housing Ltd 44,962 689,399 1,799 
			 Sanctuary Housing Association 35,763 498,300 6,100 
			 Anchor Trust 35,057 170,369 -7,394 
			 Home Group Limited 31,239 436,005 -3,486 
			 Hyde Housing Association Limited 28,731 338,220 7,329 
			 London and Quadrant Housing Trust 26,173 387,709 16,709 
			 Home Housing Association Limited 25,197 0 0 
			 Orbit Housing Association 24,093 243,567 -8,303 
			 Riverside Housing 23,162 250,195 2,028 
			 Paddington Churches Housing Association Ltd 23,029 288,785 7,507 
			  2004
			 North British Housing Limited 46,683 695,705 2,818 
			 Sanctuary Housing Association 35,565 515,200 68,82.3 
			 Anchor Trust 34,918 191,634 43,288 
			 Hyde Housing Association Limited 32,743 390,473 7,689 
			 Home Group Limited 31,550 461,935 -7,245 
			 London and Quadrant Housing Trust 26,770 472,625 16,825 
			 Home Housing Association Limited 25,056 0 0 
			 Riverside Housing 23,147 259,502 2,195 
			 Orbit Housing Association 21,804 248,497 1,549 
			 The Guinness Trust 21,213 353,519 1,611 
			 
			  2005
			 Home Group Limited 45,635 612,593 99,998 
			 North British 42,336 712,166 1,483 
			 Sanctuary 34,623 534,600 8,100 
			 Wakefield And District 31,904 0 n/a 
			 Hyde 30,958 427,912 8,404 
			 Anchor Trust 30,253 197,550 30,787 
			 London and Quadrant Housing Trust 26,393 511,349 19,917 
			 Riverside 21,742 274,024 4,397 
			 Guinness Trust 21,374 382,400 3,383 
			 Metropolitan Housing Trust 18,107 496,659 12,739 
			 
			  2006
			 Home Group Limited 46,111 675,764 8,180 
			 North British 43,140 748,431 7,802 
			 Sanctuary 38,505 547,200 10,300 
			 Wakefield and District 31,596 103,804 27,772 
			 Anchor Trust (LH4095) 30,374 226,997 32,986 
			 London and Quadrant Housing Trust 26,709 583,015 25,983 
			 Hyde 23,827 502,431 5,131 
			 Riverside 23,176 297,099 2,166 
			 Guinness Trust 21,781 408,414 5,525 
			 West Hampstead 20,620 148 5,932 
			  Source:Housing Corporation 
		
	
	For 2002 to 2004 Home Group appear twice due to the unusual group structure in which the stock was owned by Home Group but managed by Home Housing Association.
	In 2004 Wakefield and District Housing Limited are one of the largest 10 RSLs but had only recently transferred prior to the end of the financial year at 31 March 2005.

Repossessions

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many house repossessions have occurred over the last 12 months.

Yvette Cooper: Data on repossessions of dwellings are collected by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and published at UK level as Table AP4: Possessions of mortgage properties, on the CML's website at:
	http://www.cml.org.uk/cml/statistics
	According to these figures, 10,310 properties in the UK were possessed in 2005, including those voluntarily surrendered by borrowers. This is less than 0.1 per cent. of the number of mortgaged properties at the end of the period. Figures below UK level are not published.

Safer and Stronger Communities Fund

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she is taking to ensure that the areas which are most in need will benefit from the Safer and Stronger Communities Fund; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Safer and Stronger Communities Fund was introduced for all local authorities in England on 1 April 2005. The Fund was a new way of administering a number of Department for Communities and Local Government and Home Office funding streams that have a common theme; tackling crime, antisocial behaviour, the harm caused by illegal drugs, improving the poor condition of public spaces, and improving the quality of life for people living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods where the issues are more prevalent.
	The Safer and Stronger Communities Fund, is designed to allow local partners more flexibility in deciding how programmes are delivered to local communities, and to reduce the bureaucracy associated with multiple funding streams. The Fund has been incorporated into the safer and stronger communities block of local area agreements.

School Playing Fields

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what changes have been made to  (a) planning guidance,  (b) circulars and  (c) regulations relating to development of (i) current and (ii) former school playing fields since May 1997.

Yvette Cooper: In December 1998, the Government published Environment Circular 09/98, which announced the introduction of a Direction under the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995. This Direction requires local planning authorities to notify the Secretary of State in cases where they propose to grant planning permission for development on a playing field where Sport England have made an objection, and allows the Secretary of State to decide whether the application should be called-in or left to the local authority to determine.
	In July 2002, the Government published Planning Policy Guidance Note 17 (PPG17) "Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation". In addition to general policies designed to protect existing open spaces, sports and recreational buildings and land, PPG17 includes specific policies to prevent the development of playing fields unless strict criteria are met.

Special Protection Areas

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to issue an  (a) planning circular and  (b) guidance in relation to Special Protection Areas.

Yvette Cooper: In August 2005, the Government published Planning Policy Statement 9 (PPS9) "Biodiversity and Geological Conservation" together with a joint ODPM/Defra Circular "Biodiversity and Geological Conservation—Statutory obligations and their impact within the planning system" (ODPM 06/2005). A guide to good practice to accompany PPS9 was published in March 2006. Circular 06/2005 contains extensive administrative guidance on the application of the law relating to planning and nature conservation. It includes specific guidance on the procedures to be followed when considering plans and projects in and around internationally designated sites such as Special Protection Areas.
	In addition in August 2006 my Department published a consultation paper "Planning for the Protection of European Sites: Appropriate Assessment—Guidance for Regional Spatial Strategies and Local Development Documents". The final version of this guidance will accompany Schedule 1 of the amending Habitats Regulations due to come into force in February 2007. The amending regulations insert the requirement to carry out Appropriate Assessment (AA) of land use plans to ensure the protection of the integrity of European sites such as Special Protection Areas as part of the planning process at a regional and local level.
	The Government currently have no plans to issue further guidance or circulars on these matters.

Valuation Office Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether double glazing is an  (a) value significant and  (b) dwellinghouse code property attribute in the Valuation Office Agency's Automated Valuation Model.

Phil Woolas: No.

Valuation Office Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of domestic properties in England is classified by the Valuation Office Agency with a dwellinghouse code of  (a) Heating: Y and  (b) Heating: N.

Phil Woolas: The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) holds limited information about heating in domestic properties. When arriving at a banding for council tax purposes the presence or absence of heating would only be relevant in those comparatively rare cases where this would significantly affect the property's value. The Automated Valuation Model, developed for the (now postponed) 2007 revaluation, does not therefore treat the presence or absence of heating as a significant factor. The VGA's records provide for the recording of this information if it becomes available. At present fewer than 0.1 per cent. of properties are recorded as not having heating.

Waste Management

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what planning guidance her Department offers to local authorities on recycling facilities and their proximity to the origin of the materials recycled; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Planning policy on the management of waste is set out in Planning Policy Statement 10: "Planning for Sustainable Waste Management (PPS10)", published in July 2005. Practical guidance on the delivery of that policy is contained in its associated "Companion Guide", published in June 2006. PPS10 requires all planning authorities to prepare and deliver planning strategies that help deliver sustainable development though driving waste management up the waste hierarchy, with a preference for reduction, re-use, recycling and composting, using waste as source of energy and, where these are not practicable, only looking to disposal as the last option to be considered. PPS10 requires that where disposal of waste has to take place planning authorities should enable this in one of the nearest appropriate installations. It also advises that when selecting sites suitable for waste management facilities, authorities should assess them against the capacity of existing and potential transport infrastructure to support the sustainable movement of waste, and products arising from resource recovery, seeking where practicable and beneficial to use modes other I than road transport.

Air Pollution

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what steps the Government are taking to combat the damage to health caused by indoor air pollution in developing countries;
	(2)  what steps the Government have taken to combat the environmental causes of acute lower respiratory infection in children in the developing world.

Gareth Thomas: The International Energy Agency estimates that about 2.4 billion people worldwide depend on traditional biomass such as charcoal, wood and straw to meet their daily household cooking and heating needs. This is often burnt inefficiently and is a source of indoor smoke pollution. It causes ill-health, especially for women and children who tend to receive most exposure. The World Health Organisation estimates that 1.5 million deaths a year in developing countries are attributable to indoor smoke, with millions more suffering from chronic respiratory illness. Solutions include more efficient cooking stoves, cleaner fuels and proper ventilation. Changes in behaviour through better awareness of the dangers can also make a significant difference.
	According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), air pollution and possibly second-hand tobacco smoke are to blame for an estimated 42 per cent. of lower respiratory infections in developing countries. The UK has pledged to increase its share for the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), providing approximately £140 million over the next four years. The GEF supports sustainable energy and transportation initiatives that reduce pollution.
	However, lower respiratory infections in developing countries are mainly associated with indoor air pollution related largely to household solid fuel use. The International Energy Agency estimates that about 2.4 billion people worldwide depend on traditional biomass such as charcoal, wood and straw to meet their daily household cooking and heating needs. The smoke produced causes ill-health, especially for women and children who tend to receive most exposure. Around 1.5 million deaths a year occur in developing countries attributable to indoor smoke, with millions more suffering from chronic respiratory illness. The solutions include improved more efficient cooking stoves, cleaner fuels and proper ventilation. Changes in use behaviour through better awareness of the dangers can also make a significant difference.
	DFID is the second largest contributor to the World Bank's Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP). We have made core contributions to ESMAP of £0.5 million in each of the last four years. In 2002, we agreed with the Bank that household fuel and health be taken up as a major theme. As a result, the programme has worked in five developing countries, looking at health impacts, improved cooking stoves and cleaner fuels. An example is DFID funding in 2002 of approximately £0.5 million for an ESMAP programme in four provinces in China on new stove and ventilation technologies.
	The UK also supports the work of Practical Action (previously the Intermediate Technology Development Group), the Partnership on Clean Indoor Air (PCIA) and the Global Village Energy Partnership (GVEP). These include programmes that aim to improve energy access and reduce the huge environmental costs of solid fuels.

Afghanistan

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will assess the  (a) effectiveness,  (b) consistency and  (c) social and economic impact of provincial reconstruction teams in Afghanistan.

Hilary Benn: There is no single model for the structure and activities of Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in Afghanistan. This is largely due to the number of different nationalities involved in managing PRTs: there are currently 24 PRTs (25 as of 9 November when Turkey establishes itself in Wardak) involving 25 nations. Since the concept began in 2002, there has been limited strategic guidance from the Government of Afghanistan or the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) as to the role or mandate of PRTs and individual nations have interpreted approaches independently. However, the recent expansion of ISAF has brought a considerable improvement in coherence and consistency, and regular PRT workshops have proven useful ways to share best practice and learn lessons.
	In July 2005 DFID commissioned the King's Fund to conduct a review of the UK's involvement in Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan. This review involved field visits to the PRTs in Bamyan, Jalalabad, Kandahar, and Mazar-e-Sharif, as well as extensive interviews in Kabul and Bagram Airbase. The review concluded that the sheer number of PRTs operating in Afghanistan made it hard to form a single conclusion on their effectiveness or impact. The review highlighted the variation in national interpretation, of the PRT mandate, with significant differentials in PRTs approaches to development, funding allocations, and combinations of civilian and military personnel. The Kings Fund highlighted that PRTs naturally adopt a different emphasis from each other, shaped by the political environment and the PRT internal institutional context.
	ISAF has recently prepared a PRT Handbook which is undergoing final revision and has worked hard to enhance consistency across PRTs in future. We have contacted ISAF to find whether a broader assessment has been made on the social and economic impact of PRTs nationally. No such data is currently available.

Afghanistan

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what  (a) development projects and  (b) non-governmental organisations activities the Department has ceased to fund since 2002 in Afghanistan.

Hilary Benn: The following table identifies projects funded by DFID in Afghanistan since 2002 that are now complete. Beside each project, there is list of project implementing partners, including non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Whether programmes or projects are directed through NGOs, the Government or multilateral, DFID funding contributions have come to an end when the programme/project reached completion stage as specified in the project contract.
	
		
			  Projects funded by DFID in Afghanistan since 2002 that are now complete, including NGOs 
			  Project title  Purpose  Implementing partners—including NGOs 
			 International Financial Institutions arrears clearance To clear arrears with the International Financial Institutions incurred by the Afghan Government, in order to allow them to access further loans from these institutions World Bank 
			 Ministry of Finance/Central Bank Enhanced economic and financial management in Afghanistan To help build the capacity and systems of the Ministry of Finance and Central bank for enhanced economic and financial management in Afghanistan Ministry of Finance 
			 Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency Fund Support to the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency for the Afghanistan Investment Guarantee Facility (AIGF) World Bank 
			 Procurement Support for the AACA Procurement support for the Afghanistan Authority for the co-ordination of Assistance (ACCA) Afghanistan Authority for the Co-ordination of Assistance (Govt) 
			 Bridging support for Tax Administration in Afghanistan To provide bridging support for tax administration to the Afghan Transitional Government Ministry of Finance 
			 Budget Support to the Ministry of Health Enhance the delivery of health services in Afghanistan by providing direct funding to the Ministry to enable it to begin managing its own resources and understanding the difficulties of resource allocation and budgeting Ministry of Health 
			 Support to Customs in Afghanistan To provide four experienced customs officers to support the present Afghan customs advisers to implement manual customs cargo processing systems at Kabul airport and Kabul customs house Ministry of Finance 
			 Support to Statistical Office The purpose of this mission is to assist the Central Statistical Office (CSO) in preparing a Strategy Plan for the whole statistical system in Afghanistan Central Statistic Office 
			 Counter Narcotics Trust Fund Budget To set out a clear framework and to establish a Counter Narcotics Public Investment Programme (CN PIP) within the Government of Afghanistan's Core Development Budget process for expenditure on Counter-Narcotics including through the Counter-Narcotics Trust Fund (CNTF) United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 
			 IMF/WB Technical Assistance To participate in an IMF/World Bank mission which scope the technical assistance requirements of the Afghan Central Bank World Bank 
			 Accelerating Budget Execution To kick-start the mechanisms for the acceleration of the execution of the non-salary operating budget in Afghan provinces Ministry of Finance 
			 Public Expenditure Review Support the World Bank Public expenditure review through provision of an expert who will conduct a Security Sector Public Expenditure Review World Bank 
			 Budget Process Adviser The primary objective is to assist the Ministry of Finance in doing a gap analysis of the budget process with particular emphasis on budget preparation and execution Ministry of Finance 
			 Voter Registration To support the UNDP voter registration process in Afghanistan UNDP 
			 Support to 2004 Afghan Elections To support the planning and implementation of elections in Afghanistan UNDP 
			 Support to Afghanistan's Parliamentary Elections Support to UNDP and Afghan Civil Society Forum in their efforts to provide civic education for September 2005 elections UNDP 
			 Civic Education for Voter Registration Project To support Swiss Peace in their efforts to provide civic education in preparation for the elections Swiss Peace 
			 Constitutional Review process To develop a new constitution for Afghanistan United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) 
			 Constitutional Study To identify the key issues underpinning Afghanistan's constitutional and political development and to identify key policy options for the Afghan Transitional Administration and other members of the international community UNAMA 
			 DFID Support to Provincial Reconstruction Teams To improve security in Afghanistan and to provide development assistance in the regions UK Provincial Reconstruction Teams 
			 Election monitoring To improve the electoral process by monitoring it closely and making an independent assessment of the first presidential election of Afghanistan Free and Fair Elections Foundation for Afghanistan (FEFA) 
			 Ministerial Salaries To design a system to ensure ATA ministers are paid salaries and expenses in a timely manner Crown Agents/Ministry of Finance 
			 Ministerial Expenses Support To support the accommodation, security, travel and hospitality of Cabinet Ministers Crown Agents/Ministry of Finance 
			 Support to OAA and IARCSC To provide interim capacity building support to the Office of Administrative Affairs and the Independent Administrative Reform Civil Service Commission in Afghanistan Adam Smith Institute 
			 Support to Afghanistan's Parliamentary Elections Support to UNDP and Afghan Civil Society Forum in their efforts to provide civic education for September2005 elections UNDP and Afghan Civil Society Forum 
			 Support to election register To provide support to the UNDP plan to carry out election registration in Afghanistan UNDP 
			 Badakhshan, Integrated Rural Rehabilitation to Improve Livelihoods and Curb Poppy Cultivation To provide support for sustainable economic and social incentives to make food production and off farm employment an attractive alternative to opium cultivation. The program is part of AKF's larger integrated food security and social development strategy for Badakhshan Aga Khan 
			 Food security and health in poor rural settlements in Badakhshan, Konar and Ghor To improve inter-district road access, strengthen local development management capacity, improve capacity, improve crop production and livestock health, improve mother and child health and raise awareness of gender and child rights AfghanAid 
			 Improving access to primary education in western Afghanistan To reconstruct and rehabilitate primary schools. To provide accommodation for 16,200 children (over 50 per cent. girls) and employment opportunities for 300 teachers and 10 headmasters and the provision of stationary and textbooks Ockenden International 
			 Rehabilitation of Agriculture systems in Badakshan To re-establish and strengthen food production capacity for reducing the poverty and vulnerability of farming communities affected by complex disasters over the last 20 years of the Afghan conflict Aga Khan 
			 ACTED—Rehabilitation of livelihoods in conflict affected areas, Kabul and Baghlan provinces The rehabilitation of essential water supply and transport services, supporting the re-establishment of returnees by providing starter kits for housing construction and work opportunities for local people ACTED 
			 Afghanistan drought relief interventions and ongoing rehabilitation To provide improved food security and living conditions for 12,600 vulnerable families of Takhar and Badakhshan provinces, and emergency winter shelter and assistance for 4,000 in East Kunduz and West Takhar provinces TEARFUND 
			 Relief to vulnerable families, Herat and Badghis To meet the short-term humanitarian needs and address the medium-term livelihoods needs of conflict and drought affected families in four districts of Badghis and Herat provinces Christian Aid 
			 Okenden International—Emergency Relief Assistance to IDPs in Badghis To provide immediate relief to displaced families in Kushk-e-Kuna and ala Murghan through the supply of appropriate and targeted relief materials and foodstuffs Okenden International 
			 Vulnerable Family Food Assistance and Livelihood Restoration Programme To provide 22,780 drought affected and vulnerable families with 50 kg of wheat per family per month over five months Christian Aid 
			 Solidarities-Seeds and Fertilizers' Distribution to returnees of Bamyan Province To increase agricultural production, to stabilise the returnees and initiate sustainable development through (1) helping 6,800 families of returnees from Bamyan and Saighan districts settle again by starting agricultural activities and (2) improving the yields obtained by farmers usually cultivating spring wheat through introduction of improved wheat seeds Solidarities (NGO)

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff in his Department received bonus payments in each of the last five years for which information is available; what proportion of the total workforce they represented; what the total amount of bonuses paid has been; what the largest single payment was in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The following two tables give the number of non-pensionable bonuses awarded to DFID staff in the last four years (figures for 2001-02 are not available) with total cost in each year and the largest single payment in each year.
	
		
			  Non-pensionable bonuses awarded to DFID senior civil servants (SCS) 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Number of awards 27 57 68 65 
			 Number of awards as a proportion of the number of DFID SCS staff (percentage) 43.5 73.1 79.1 77.3 
			 Total cost (£) 85,051 189,500 266,750 377,100 
			 Largest individual payment (£) 5,793.00 5,407 5,500 8,000 
		
	
	
		
			  Non-pensionable bonuses awarded to DFID staff below SCS 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Number of awards 323 654 508 1,106 
			 Number of awards as a proportion of the number of DFID HCS staff (percentage) 20.0 34.9 27.6 62.7 
			 Total cost (£) 292,528 285,601 230,600 515,865 
			 Largest individual payment (£) 1,715 1,100 1,150 1,150

Benefits

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received industrial injuries benefits in each of the last five years; how many received  (a) industrial injuries disablement benefit,  (b) reduced earnings allowance and  (c) retirement allowance; how much was paid in industrial injuries benefits in each year in each case; and how much was spent on administration of such benefits in each year in each case, broken down by (i) employee costs, (ii) IS/IT costs and (iii) other costs.

Jim Murphy: The available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Recipients of industrial injuries benefits in Great Britain at December each year 
			   Total  IIDB only  REA only  RA only  IIDB and REA  IIDB and RA  Unknown 
			 2001 341,220 196,590 49,260 27,370 42,680 25,310 20 
			 2002 342,390 198,980 47,950 28,420 40,390 26,640 20 
			 2003 341,910 201,130 45,830 29,420 37,790 27,720 20 
			 2004 341,010 203,260 43,280 30,270 35,480 28,710 10 
			 2005 338,970 204,230 41,100 30,930 33,150 29,540 20 
			  Notes: 1. IIDB = Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.  2. REA = Reduced Earnings Allowance.  3. RA = Retirement Allowance. 4. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.   Source: Information Directorate, Industrial Injuries Computer System, 100 per cent. data. 
		
	
	
		
			  Industrial injuries benefits, out-turn expenditure, Great Britain 
			  £ million (cash terms) 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit 495 486 496 515 521 
			 Reduced Earnings Allowance 201 214 204 199 191 
			 Retirement Allowance 31 33 37 40 42 
			 Total 727 733 737 754 754 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are estimated by apportioning the out-turn total spending on all industrial disablement benefits using sample data on the number of assessments paid as IIDB, REA and RA.  2. The figures for total out-turn spending on all industrial disablement benefits are consistent with Table 3 published on the internet at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/Table3.xls 
		
	
	The Department accounts for its administrative expenditure by strategic objective as set out in its public service agreements (PSA) and by individual requests for resources (RfRs) as set out in the departmental estimates and accounts, and not by benefit. Information on administrative expenditure by strategic objective is available in the annually published departmental report, copies of which are available in the Library.

Benefits

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are receiving the  (a) carer's allowance,  (b) higher rate of attendance allowance and  (c) pension credit in (i) Chorley and (ii) each constituency in Lancashire.

Anne McGuire: The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			  Carer's allowance, higher-rate attendance allowance, and pension credit: numbers of recipients in each constituency in Lancashire at February 2006 
			  Constituency ( 1) Carer's allowance ( 2) Higher rate attendance allowance ( 1) Pension credit 
			 Blackburn 1,410 1,800 5,730 
			 Blackpool North and Fleetwood 970 2,100 6,580 
			 Blackpool South 1,050 1,700 6,840 
			 Burnley 820 1,500 5,120 
			 Chorley 630 1,300 4,060 
			 Fylde 620 2,000 4,220 
			 Hyndburn 880 2,000 5,000 
			 Lancaster and Wyre 580 1,700 4,130 
			 Morecambe and Lunesdale 770 1,400 5,180 
			 Pendle 900 1,300 4,660 
			 Preston 1,030 1,400 5,210 
			 Ribble Valley 440 1,600 3,000 
			 Rossendale and Darwen 760 1,500 4,420 
			 South Ribble 640 1,500 3,670 
			 West Lancashire 890 1,200 4,840 
			  Sources:(1 )DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.(2 )DWP 5 per cent. sample data. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.

Benefits

David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in each constituency in Scotland receive the  (a) carer's allowance,  (b) higher rate of attendance allowance,  (c) pension credit and  (d) child benefit.

Anne McGuire: The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			  Carer's allowance, higher-rate attendance allowance, pension credit and child benefit: numbers1 of recipients in each constituency in Scotland as at February 2006 
			  Constituency ( 2) Carer's allowance ( 2) Pension credit ( 3) Higher rate attendance allowance ( 4) Child benefit 
			 Aberdeen, North 560 4,800 1,400 8,860 
			 Aberdeen, South 330 3,250 900 8,650 
			 Airdrie and Shotts 910 5,380 1,200 10,940 
			 Angus 650 4,920 1,400 9,770 
			 Argyll and Bute 590 4,820 1,400 9,780 
			 Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock 1,130 5,750 1,500 11,040 
			 Banff and Buchan 770 4,660 1,200 10,250 
			 Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk 590 5,280 1,300 10,200 
			 Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross 670 3,510 1,000 6,950 
			 Central Ayrshire 820 5,140 1,500 10,690 
			 Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill 910 6,060 1,700 12,110 
			 Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch, East 670 4,330 1,700 11,600 
			 Dumfries and Galloway 990 5,750 1,400 10,790 
			 Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale 670 4,560 1,400 9,690 
			 Dundee, East 730 4,590 1,700 10,310 
			 Dundee, West 770 6,020 1,700 9,510 
			 Dunfermline and West Fife 660 3,290 900 11,860 
			 East Dunbartonshire 370 2,470 1,300 10,040 
			 East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow 730 5,130 1,600 12,660 
			 East Lothian 680 4,640 1,800 11,490 
			 East Renfrewshire 520 3,070 1,400 11,470 
			 Edinburgh, East 650 4,490 800 8,230 
			 Edinburgh, North and Leith 490 3,570 1,000 8,070 
			 Edinburgh, South 450 2,730 800 8,590 
			 Edinburgh, South West 580 3,320 1,200 9,580 
			 Edinburgh, West 570 3,350 1,100 10,200 
			 Falkirk 930 5,610 1,300 12,840 
			 Glasgow, Central 870 6,530 1,200 7,060 
			 Glasgow, East 1,450 7,900 2,200 12,040 
			 Glasgow, North 510 4,170 1,000 6,110 
			 Glasgow, North East 1,320 8,770 1,500 10,550 
			 Glasgow North West 1,080 6,490 1,800 9,470 
			 Glasgow, South 850 5,580 1,100 10,290 
			 Glasgow, South West 1,100 7,140 1,700 10,830 
			 Glenrothes 1,040 4,990 1,100 11,320 
			 Gordon 390 2,820 1,000 11,280 
			 Inverclyde 830 5,960 1,600 10,480 
			 Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey 600 4,060 1,300 10,740 
			 Kilmarnock and Loudoun 1,010 6,090 1,500 11,810 
			 Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath 880 5,120 1,400 11,220 
			 Lanark and Hamilton, East 930 5,830 1,600 11,410 
			 Linlithgow and East Falkirk 880 5,470 1,500 13,110 
			 Livingston 920 4,550 1,200 14,560 
			 Midlothian 660 3,570 1,300 10,040 
			 Moray 670 4,170 1,100 10,410 
			 Motherwell and Wishaw 980 6,150 1,900 11,520 
			 Na h-Eileanan an lar 210 2,510 400 2,870 
			 North Ayrshire and Arran 940 5,670 1,600 11,590 
			 North East Fife 440 3,220 1,000 8,180 
			 Ochil and South Perthshire 750 4,350 1,200 11,540 
			 Orkney and Shetland 230 1,960 600 4,860 
			 Paisley and Renfrewshire, North 650 4,420 1,400 11,260 
			 Paisley and Renfrewshire, South 680 5,670 1,200 10,420 
			 Perth and North Perthshire 650 4,580 2,000 10,280 
			 Ross, Skye and Lochaber 490 3,440 1,200 7,370 
			 Rutherglen and Hamilton, West 1,090 6,810 1,900 12,740 
			 Stirling 610 3,600 1,500 10,050 
			 West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine 350 2,510 1,000 10,880 
			 West Dunbartonshire 1,070 6,760 1,900 11,810 
			 (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.(2) Source: DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.(3) Source: DWP 5 per cent. sample data, rounded to the nearest 100.(4) AA figures are rounded to the nearest 100.(5) Figures are for August 2005. Source: HMRC published statistics

Carers

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were in receipt of carer's allowance in each of the last three years.

Anne McGuire: The requested information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Carer's allowance—number of recipients at 28 February in each of the years from 2004 to 2006 
			   Number of people receiving carer's allowance( 1) 
			 2004 412,120 
			 2005 436,940 
			 2006 452,540 
			 (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10   Source: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS)

Departmental IT

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which of his Department's databases are  (a) wholly and  (b) partly operated by external organisations or individuals; and which organisations and individuals own those databases.

Anne McGuire: All the Department's major IT systems are operated by external organisations. The majority are operated by Electronic Data Services (EDS), with a few being operated by Fujitsu and British Telecom (BT).
	In this context "operated" means that the IT service is provided, technically maintained and located at the external organisation's premises.
	The data is wholly owned by the Department.

Disability Living Allowance

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many disability living allowance claimants had been diagnosed with cancer in each year between 2000-01 and 2004-05.

Anne McGuire: Information is not available in the format requested. The information that is available is in the table.
	
		
			  Disability living allowance: number of recipients at February in each of the years from 2001 to 2005 whose main disabling condition was recorded as "malignant disease"( 1) 
			   Numbers of DLA recipients 
			  February  
			 2001 50,500 
			 2002 54,400 
			 2003 55,410 
			 2004 58,190 
			 2005 61,400 
			 (1) "Malignant disease" includes all forms of cancer including carcinoma and leukaemia. Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and exclude cases where payment of the benefit has been suspended because, for example, the disabled person is in hospital.  2. Where the recipient has more than one disability, only the main disabling condition which gives rise to entitlement to the benefit is recorded. Where the recipient is receiving both the DLA care and mobility components, it is the main disabling condition which gave rise to entitlement to the mobility component which is recorded.   Source:  DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.

Disability Living Allowance

David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) men and  (b) women in each constituency in Scotland receive the care component higher rate of disability living allowance.

Anne McGuire: The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for the chief executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to my hon. Friend with the information required.
	 Letter from Terry Moran:
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) men and (b) women receive the care component higher rate of disability living allowance in each constituency in Scotland.
	The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
	The information available is in the attached annex.
	I hope this is helpful
	
		
			  Annex: Disability living allowance—cases in payment case load (thousands): Gender of claimant by parliamentary constituency of claimant (Westminster) with highest rate care award 
			  Parliamentary constituency of claimant (Westminster boundaries—2005 onwards)  Case load (thousands) male  Case load (thousands) female 
			 Aberdeen North 0.51 0.53 
			 Aberdeen South 0.31 0.29 
			 Airdrie and Shotts 0.80 0.97 
			 Angus 0.48 0.51 
			 Argyll and Bute 0.50 0.54 
			 Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock 0.79 0.81 
			 Banff and Buchan 0.60 0.56 
			 Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk 0.49 0.47 
			 Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross 0.41 0.39 
			 Central Ayrshire 0.60 0.67 
			 Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill 0.81 0.96 
			 Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East 0.60 0.71 
			 Dumfries and Galloway 0.68 0.74 
			 Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale 0.48 0.48 
			 Dundee East 0.55 0.63 
			 Dundee West 0.66 0.75 
			 Dunfermline and West Fife 0.52 0.56 
			 East Dunbartonshire 0.37 0.41 
			 East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow 0.61 0.62 
			 East Lothian 0.57 0.59 
			 East Renfrewshire 0.43 0.50 
			 Edinburgh East 0.65 0.68 
			 Edinburgh North and Leith 0.43 0.47 
			 Edinburgh South 0.39 0.36 
			 Edinburgh South West 0.52 0.45 
			 Edinburgh West 0.43 0.47 
			 Falkirk 0.68 0.76 
			 Glasgow Central 0.74 0.75 
			 Glasgow East 1.02 1.19 
			 Glasgow North 0.48 0.48 
			 Glasgow North East 0.97 1.10 
			 Glasgow North West 0.87 0.94 
			 Glasgow South 0.70 0.68 
			 Glasgow South West 0.81 0.97 
			 Glenrothes 0.68 0.71 
			 Gordon 0.35 0.31 
			 Inverclyde 0.66 0.65 
			 Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey 0.52 0.54 
			 Kilmarnock and Loudoun 0.68 0.72 
			 Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath 0.56 0.59 
			 Lanark and Hamilton East 0.79 0.89 
			 Linlithgow and East Falkirk 0.68 0.75 
			 Livingston 0.74 0.80 
			 Midlothian 0.53 0.57 
			 Moray 0.45 0.45 
			 Motherwell and Wishaw 0.76 0.85 
			 Na h-Eileanen an Iar 0.14 0.13 
			 North Ayrshire and Arran 0.65 0.70 
			 North East Fife 0.34 0.33 
			 Ochil and South Perthshire 0.56 0.62 
			 Orkney and Shetland 0.22 0.18 
			 Paisley and Renfrewshire North 0.61 0.71 
			 Paisley and Renfrewshire South 0.61 0.67 
			 Perth and North Perthshire 0.51 0.57 
			 Ross, Skye and Lochaber 0.33 0.37 
			 Rutherglen and Hamilton West 0.83 1.02 
			 Stirling 0.55 0.55 
			 West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine 0.28 0.28 
			 West Dunbartonshire 0.77 0.84 
			  Notes:  1. Case load (thousands): Totals show the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and exclude people with entitlement where payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital.  2. Parliamentary constituency of claimant (Westminster): These constituencies are used for the Westminster Parliament. For the May 2005 general election, the constituencies in Scotland changed. These constituencies are included in the table from May 2005 onward.   Definitions and conventions: Case load figures are rounded to the nearest 10.   Source:  DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Disability Living Allowance

Dennis Skinner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) men and  (b) women in each constituency in the East Midlands receive the care component higher rate of disability living allowance.

Anne McGuire: The administration of Disability Living Allowance is a matter for the chief executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information required.
	 Letter from Terry Moran,:
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) men and (b) women receive the care component higher rate of disability living allowance in each constituency in the East Midlands.
	The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
	The information available is in the attached annex.
	I hope this is helpful.
	
		
			  Annex: disability living allowance?cases in payment caseload: gender of claimant by parliamentary constituency of claimant (Westminster) with highest rate care award 
			  Parliamentary constituency of claimant (Westminster boundaries?2005 onwards)  Female  Male 
			 Amber Valley 570 500 
			 Ashfield 600 630 
			 Bassetlaw 580 590 
			 Blaby 350 350 
			 Bolsover 700 690 
			 Boston and Skegness 590 550 
			 Bosworth 380 370 
			 Broxtowe 460 370 
			 Charnwood 350 290 
			 Chesterfield 630 650 
			 Corby 500 470 
			 Daventry 350 330 
			 Derby North 470 510 
			 Derby South 690 660 
			 Erewash 510 470 
			 Gainsborough 440 440 
			 Gedling 380 420 
			 Grantham and Stamford 400 410 
			 Harborough 360 300 
			 High Peak 450 420 
			 Kettering 370 380 
			 Leicester East 570 490 
			 Leicester South 560 540 
			 Leicester West 520 560 
			 Lincoln 460 530 
			 Loughborough 310 300 
			 Louth and Horncastle 720 740 
			 Mansfield 650 610 
			 Newark 420 410 
			 North East Derbyshire 530 510 
			 North West Leicestershire 420 380 
			 Northampton North 410 450 
			 Northampton South 430 470 
			 Nottingham East 580 620 
			 Nottingham North 760 780 
			 Nottingham South 530 510 
			 Rushcliffe 380 340 
			 Rutland and Melton 250 270 
			 Sherwood 570 590 
			 Sleaford and North Hykeham 470 470 
			 South Derbyshire 540 620 
			 South Holland and The Deepings 450 400 
			 Wellingborough 430 420 
			 West Derbyshire 360 330 
			  Definitions and conventions:1. Caseload are rounded to the nearest 10; some additional disclosure control has also been applied.2. The boundaries of parliamentary constituencies do not correspond exactly to Government office regions (GORs). Source:DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

Jobseeker's Allowance

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what action can be taken to stop jobseeker's allowance being paid to people serving prison sentences.

James Plaskitt: There are robust processes in place for preventing jobseeker's allowance overpayments to prisoners. However, where jobseeker's allowance overpayments do occur, the data that we receive from the Prison Service identifies those who have failed to notify us that they have been committed to prison. We then take action to stop benefit and recover the overpayment.

Maternity Pay

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the level of statutory maternity pay was in each of the last 30 years at today's prices.

Anne McGuire: Statutory maternity pay was introduced in 1987. Since its inception, the first six weeks have been payable at 90 per cent. of the women's average weekly earnings, with no upper limit. Between 1987 and 5 April 2003 this was followed by a flat rate for the remainder of her maternity pay period. From 6 April 2003, the remainder of the maternity pay period is paid at the lesser of the flat rate or 90 per cent. of her average weekly earnings. The standard rates, together with the equivalent at 2005-06 prices, are in the table.
	
		
			  Rates of statutory maternity pay (SMP since 1987 and equivalent in 2005-06 prices) 
			  £ 
			   Standard SMP rate  Rate at 2005-06 prices 
			 1987 32.85 61.30 
			 1988 34.25 59.75 
			 1989 36.25 59.02 
			 1990 39.25 59.25 
			 1991 44.50 63.30 
			 1992 46.30 63.81 
			 1993 47.95 64.40 
			 1994 (part)(1) 48.80 64.57 
			 1994 (part)(1) 52.50 69.47 
			 1995 52.50 67.42 
			 1996 54.55 67.77 
			 1997 55.70 67.24 
			 1998 57.70 67.93 
			 1999 59.55 68.72 
			 2000 60.20 68.50 
			 2001 62.20 69.14 
			 2002 75.00 80.86 
			 2003 100.00 104.71 
			 2004 102.80 104.75 
			 2005 106.00 106.00 
			 2006 108.85 108.85 
			 (1) SMP rate increased for women with an expected week of confinement of 16 October 1994 or later.

Pensioners

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners over 80 years old there were in the United Kingdom in each year since 2001.

James Purnell: The information in the following table shows the total number of state pension recipients aged 80 and over in Great Britain.
	
		
			   Number 
			 February 2006 2,535,900 
			 February 2005 2,490,400 
			 February 2004 2,447,800 
			 February 2003 2,411,000 
			 March 2002 2,422,100 
			 March 2001 2,359,500 
			  Notes: 1. Data for March 2001 and 2002 are taken from the 5 per cent. extract of the pension service computer system and the figures are subject to a degree of sampling variation. They are also adjusted to be consistent with the overall case load from the Work and Pension Longitudinal Study with extra built in protection to protect identity.  2. The figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 3. The figures are lower in 2003 due to the changeover in our data from 5 per cent. sample data to 100 per cent. data.   Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS) 100 per cent. data and 5 per cent. sample data.

Pensioners

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what level of state pension, including the 25 pence age allowance, was paid to over 80-year-olds in  (a) 1996 and  (b) 2006.

James Purnell: The average weekly amounts paid to state pension recipients aged 80 and over who are also in receipt of the 25 pence age addition is in the following table:
	
		
			  Years  £ per week 
			 September 2005 87.87 
			 September 1996 61.19 
			  Notes:  1. Data are taken from 5 per cent. extract of the Pension Service Computer System and the figures are subject to a degree of sampling variation. They are also adjusted to be consistent with the overall caseload from the Work and Pension Longitudinal Study with extra built in protection to protect identity.  2. Average amounts are rounded to the nearest penny.  3. Figures for 2006 are not yet available.   Source:  DWP information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS) 100 per cent. data and 5 per cent. sample data.

Pensioners

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much on average pensioners received to help with heating bills in  (a) 1986,  (b) 1996 and  (c) 2006.

James Purnell: The exact information requested cannot be calculated from the available administrative data relating to the structure of the help available. Information that is available is as follows.
	The Social Fund Cold Weather Payments scheme was introduced in October 1988. It replaced a similar but not identical scheme which had begun in December 1986. No data is held for help given to pensioners in 1986 under this system.
	In 1996 help for pensioners was given through the Social Fund Cold Weather Payments scheme. Cold Weather Payments are made when the average temperature has been recorded as, or forecast to be, 0(0)C or below over seven consecutive days at the weather station linked to the eligible customer's postcode. A Cold Weather Payment of £8.50 is made for each week the temperature is triggered. These payments are not limited to pensioners. In total £61.6m was paid out to all recipients in 1995-96.
	In 2005-06 the amount paid in Winter Fuel Payments to people aged 60 or over was £2 billion and a further £5.6 million in Cold Weather Payments was paid to eligible pensioner households. The amount of Winter Fuel Payment a person receives depends on their age and whether there are other eligible people in the household. People aged 60-79 receive up to £200 and people aged 80 or over receive up to £300.
	Source for Cold Weather Payments: 1995-96 data—Annual report by the Secretary of
	State for Social Security on the Social Fund 1995-96, 2005-06 data—DWP
	Programme Accounting Computer System.
	Source for Winter Fuel Payments: DWP Information Directorate.

Unemployment Payments

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on unemployment payments in each of the last 30 years at today's prices.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Unemployment benefits expenditure, Great Britain (real terms, 2006-07 prices) 
			  £ million 
			UB  JSA(C)  SB/IS( 1)  JSA(IB) 
			 1976-77 Outturn 2,734 — (3)n/a — 
			 1977-78 Outturn 2,708 — (3)n/a — 
			 1978-79 Outturn 2,452 — 1,998 — 
			 1979-80 Outturn 2,168 — 1,737 — 
			 1980-81 Outturn 3,597 — 2,232 — 
			 1981-82 Outturn 4,367 — 3,880 — 
			 1982-83 Outturn 3,595 — 6,152 — 
			 1983-84 Outturn 3,430 — 7,461 — 
			 1984-85 Outturn 3,436 — 8,121 — 
			 1985-86 Outturn 3,282 — 8,704 — 
			 1986-87 Outturn 3,471 — 8,679 — 
			 1987-88 Outturn 2,783 — 7,556 — 
			 1988-89 Outturn 1,961 — 5,396 — 
			 1989-90 Outturn 1,213 — 4,353 — 
			 1990-91 Outturn 1,335 — 4,512 — 
			 1991-92 Outturn 2,321 — 6,077 — 
			 1992-93 Outturn 2,469 — 7,544 — 
			 1993-94 Outturn 2,259 — 7,846 — 
			 1994-95 Outturn 1,750 — 6,980 — 
			 1995-96 Outturn 1,443 — 6,319 — 
			 1996-97 Outturn (2)1,164 (2)— 2,985 2,320 
			 1997-98 Outturn — 584 — 4,201 
			 1998-99 Outturn — 568 — 3,694 
			 1999-2000 Outturn — 539 — 3,285 
			 2000-01 Outturn — 518 — 2,824 
			 2001-02 Outturn — 532 — 2,417 
			 2002-03 Outturn — 569 — 2,309 
			 2003-04 Outturn — 542 — 2,193 
			 2004-05 Outturn — 465 — 1,851 
			 2005-06 Estimate outturn — 500 — 1,844 
			 2006-07 Plans — 530 — 1,931 
			 (1) Supplementary benefit and income support figures are for expenditure on unemployed claimants only.(2) 1996-97 figure for UB includes JSA(C).(3) Information for SB is not available prior to 1978-79 Notes:1. UB = unemployment benefit; SB = supplementary benefit; IS = income support; JSA(C) = contributory jobseeker's allowance; JSA(IB) = income-based jobseeker's allowance2. Figures are consistent with the Budget Report 2006.3. Historic figures have been collated from departmental reports and accounts of DWP and its predecessor Departments.4. Expenditure for 2005-06 reflects the latest benefit-by-benefit estimate of outturn, and not the amounts voted by Parliament. Source:DWP Expenditure tables.

Asbestos-related Illnesses

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland died from asbestos-related illnesses in each of the last 20 years.

David Hanson: The following table gives the number of deaths registered in Northern Ireland in each year between 1986 and 2005 where the underlying cause of death was recorded as mesothelioma(1) or 'asbestosis'(2).
	(1 )International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision code C45 for years 2001-2004 and Ninth Revision codes 158.9 or 163.9 for year 1985-2000.
	(2 )International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes J61 and J92.0 for years 2001-2004 and Ninth Revision code 501 for year 1985-2000.
	
		
			  Number of registered deaths by year hi Northern Ireland resulting from asbestos related illnesses (mesothelioma and 'asbestosis') 
			  Registration year  Mesothelioma  'Asbestosis'  Total 
			 1986 22 — 22 
			 1987 44 9 53 
			 1988 26 9 35 
			 1989 40 11 51 
			 1990 38 3 41 
			 1991 40 5 45 
			 1992 47 4 51 
			 1993 43 4 47 
			 1994 29 4 33 
			 1995 34 5 39 
			 1996 32 4 36 
			 1997 42 — 42 
			 1998 40 6 46 
			 1999 46 4 50 
			 2000 37 6 43 
			 2001 54 9 63 
			 2002 42 12 54 
			 2003 46 9 55 
			 2004 51 14 65 
			 2005(1) 34 10 44 
			 (1 )Provisional data

Biodiversity

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding the Government have provided for biodiversity education  (a) overall in the Province and  (b) at Oxford Island Nature Reserve in each of the last five years.

David Cairns: The majority of government funding on biodiversity education is contributed through the Department of the Environment's Environment and Heritage Service (EHS). EHS provides funding in the form of grant aid to district councils, schools, community groups and environmental non-government organisations. EHS also provides direct environmental education to schools and the wider public.
	The spend by EHS is summarised as follows.
	
		
			  £000 
			   Direct spend  Grant aid  Total 
			 2005-06 383 700 1,466 
			 2004-05 310 220 840 
			 2003-04 457 245 1,159 
			 2002-03 175 80 430 
			 2001-02 175 46 396 
			 Five year total 1,500 1,291 4,291 
			 Average per year 300 258 858 
		
	
	Following the publication of the Northern Ireland Biodiversity Strategy in 2002 the spend has increased substantially and the total annual spend on biodiversity education in the last three years has averaged over £l million per annum.
	During the past five years EHS has supported either a conservation officer or a local biodiversity action plan officer within Craigavon borough council to a total of £91,000 over five years. The officer is based at Oxford Island and part of their role has included support for the interpretation of biodiversity within the Oxford Island National Nature Reserve.
	
		
			   Conservation officer  Local biodiversity officer  Total 
			 2005-06 — 23,257 23,257 
			 2004-05 13,779 23,232 37,011 
			 2003-04 8,671 — 8,671 
			 2002-03 11,546 — 11,546 
			 2001-02 11,025 — 11,025

Departmental IT

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  which of his Department's databases are  (a) wholly and  (b) partly operated by external organisations or individuals; and which organisations and individuals own those databases;
	(2)  which databases operated by his Department are located  (a) wholly and  (b) partly outside the UK; and where each of those databases and parts of databases is located.

Peter Hain: The requested details of the databases are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Operated by   Location 
			  Database  Wholly  Partly  Owned by  In UK  Outside UK 
			 Leadership Development Programme Direction Plus  Direction Plus  Switzerland 
			   
			 HRMS  BT NICS Departments BT—Castle Buildings  
			   Northgate  Northgate—Dargan Cres Belfast  
			   Fujitsu  Fujitsu—Trident House Airport Road Belfast  
			   
			 Payroll (NICS)  Fujitsu Fujitsu Fujitsu—Trident House Airport Road Belfast  
			   PSMB  PSMB Trident House Airport Road Belfast  
			   Belfast City Council  Belfast City Council—Belfast  
			   
			 Payroll (HCS) Logica CMG  Logica CMG CMG UK Limited, 20 Kingston Rd Staines Middlesex

Equality Commission

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  how much has been spent by the Equality Commission in each year since its formation in providing legal assistance and support to plaintiffs in respect of  (a) sex discrimination and  (b) religious discrimination; and what the average amount spent was on each category in each year;
	(2)  in how many cases financial assistance and support were given by the Equality Commission to plaintiffs pursuing  (a) sex discrimination cases and  (b) religious discrimination cases where the case was subsequently abandoned by the Equality Commission in each year since its formation; and how much was spent on each category of case in each year;
	(3)  in which cases relating to  (a) sex discrimination and  (b) religious discrimination the Equality Commission spent more than £50,000 in each year since its formation.

David Hanson: The Equality Commission, as reported in its annual reports, spent the following amounts on legal fees in respect of its duty to provide assistance to complainants and potential complainants. The amounts exclude staff costs.
	
		
			  Amount (£) 
			   Sex discrimination  Religious and political opinion discrimination 
			 1999-00 293,046 253,300 
			 2000-01 348,867 166,780 
			 2001-02 631,861 170,261 
			 2002-03 829,558 916,357 
			 2003-04 524,967 239,464 
			 2004-05 72,611 74,390 
		
	
	An average spend is not always available as many cases continue over a number of financial years.
	The Equality Commission operates an enforcement policy for the provision of advice and assistance to complainants. Such assistance is subject to review. On review the Equality Commission may withdraw assistance because information gathered suggests that the case is unlikely to be successful, because the complainant no longer wishes to pursue proceedings or the case does not fall within the strategic objectives of the Commission's policy on assistance.
	The Equality Commission database shows the following numbers of cases were discontinued in each year of operation. Figures are not available for 1999-2000.
	
		
			   Cases 
			   Sex discrimination  Religious and political opinion discrimination 
			 2000-01 1 — 
			 2001-02 8 3 
			 2002-03 139 202 
			 2003-04 58 93 
			 2004-05 27 17 
			 2005-06 2 10 
		
	
	It should be noted that an individual may complain under more than one ground of discrimination. Where there are a number of grounds including sex discrimination, these are included with the figure for sex discrimination. Where there are a number of grounds including religious and political opinion discrimination, these are included with the figure for religious and political opinion discrimination. Where both sex and religion and political opinion discrimination are mentioned these cases are included in both; those covering both encompass :
	15 cases in 2002-03
	4 cases in 2003-04
	3 cases in 2004-05
	Gathering the information in relation to the costs associated with the discontinued cases will require further analysis and the Chief Executive of the Equality Commission will respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
	The Equality Commission spent more than £50,000 in two cases relating to sex discrimination and one case relating to Religion/Politics. Each of these cases continued for more than one financial year.
	 Religion/Politics
	One case which was heard in the Court of Appeal NI—total spend: £71,769.28.
	 Sex Discrimination
	One case which was heard in the Court of Appeal NI—total spend: £117,251.04
	One case which was heard in the House of Lords—total spend: £168,267.05

Household Incomes

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of households in Northern Ireland have weekly incomes of £300 or less, broken down by  (a) parliamentary constituency,  (b) district council and  (c) district electoral area.

David Hanson: The proportion of households with a weekly income of £300 or less, according to the Northern Ireland Family Resources Survey, by parliamentary constituency is given in Table 2, and by district council is given in Table 1. In order to ensure a sample size that would deliver reliable results, it was necessary to combine three years of the survey. Even with this level of combination, the sample sizes achieved for district electoral areas are too small for reliable results to be given.
	The information requested in Part (c) district electoral area is not readily available and can be provided only at disproportionate costs.
	Because of the need to combine years, the significance of the £300 income limit for households is not constant due to price inflation and increases in general income over time.
	
		
			  Table 1: Local Government Districts, Proportion of Households with Gross Weekly Income of £300 or Under by LGD( 1) 
			  Local Government District  Percentage 
			 Antrim 31.3 
			 Ards 34.8 
			 Armagh 34.5 
			 Ballymena 35.6 
			 Ballymoney and Moyle(2) 32.8 
			 Banbridge 24.7 
			 Belfast 45.6 
			 Carrickfergus 26.6 
			 Castlereagh 29.4 
			 Coleraine 38.0 
			 Cookstown 47.7 
			 Craigavon 34.9 
			 Downpatrick 32.3 
			 Dungannon 40.2 
			 Fermanagh 45.5 
			 Larne 35.3 
			 Limavady and Magherafelt(2) 36.6 
			 Lisburn 32.8 
			 Derry 39.3 
			 Newry 38.3 
			 Newtownabbey 32.0 
			 North Down 26.7 
			 Omagh and Strabane(2) 46.1 
			 (1 )In order to ensure a sample size that would deliver reliable results, it was necessary to combine three years of the survey, namely 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05.  (2) These councils had to be combined in order to obtain a sample of at least 100 households.   Source:  Family Resources Survey. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Parliamentary Constituencies, Proportion of Households with Gross Weekly Income of £300 or Under by Parliamentary Constituency( 1) 
			  Parliamentary Constituency  Percentage 
			 Belfast East 38.1 
			 Belfast North 54.3 
			 Belfast South 36.3 
			 Belfast West 44.4 
			 East Antrim 31.7 
			 East Londonderry 34.9 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 42.8 
			 Foyle 39.6 
			 Lagan Valley 30.4 
			 Mid Ulster 45.3 
			 Newry and Armagh 37.9 
			 North Antrim 34.5 
			 North Down 26.5 
			 South Antrim 28.0 
			 South Down 31.9 
			 Strangford 34.6 
			 Upper Bann 32.7 
			 West Tyrone 46.1 
			 (1 )In order to ensure a sample size that would deliver reliable results, it was necessary to combine three years of the survey, namely 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05.   Notes: 1. The tables are derived from the Northern Ireland Family Resources Survey, which has been carried out in Northern Ireland since 2002-03. A comparable survey has been carried out in Great Britain since 1992-93, and this GB survey has now been expanded into a UK survey, including the Northern Ireland data.  2. The Northern Ireland sample size has been enhanced to allow more detailed analysis.  3. A variety of definitions of household income are available from the survey. Gross income is used here.  4. Three years of the survey are combined to ensure an acceptable sample size.  5. Because three years of the survey have been combined, the significance of the £300 limit for households is not constant, due to price inflation and increases in general income over time.   Source:  Family Resources Survey.

Household Waste

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the volume of household rubbish generated per person in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; and what percentage of that was  (a) recycled and  (b) re-used in each year.

David Cairns: Each person in Northern Ireland generates approximately 0.5 tonnes of household waste per year (annual figures are provided in the following table).
	The overall household recycling rate in Northern Ireland has grown from 6.6 per cent. in 1999-2000 to 18.9 per cent. in 2004-05, an encouraging increase of over 12 per cent., and indicative figures for 2005-06 show a recycling rate of over 24 per cent.
	There are no figures on re-use of household waste as this waste does not enter the waste stream and is therefore is not reported.
	Household waste arisings per household is a more useful indicator than per person as the household is the key unit for generation of waste and produces a certain amount of waste regardless of the number of occupants.
	
		
			  Household waste statistics 1999-2006 
			   Total household waste (million tonnes)  Average household waste collected (tonnes/year)  Household waste recycling rate (percentage) 
			Per person  Per household  
			 1999-2000 0.83 0.49 1.38 6.6 
			 2001 0.88 0.52 1.42 8.9 
			 2002 0.90 0.53 1.40 10.0 
			 2003 0.90 0.53 1.37 12.5 
			 2004-05 0.92 0.54 1.36 18.9 
			 2005-06(1) 0.94 0.54 1.36 >24 
			 (1) Indicative.

Hyper- and Hypothermia

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate the number of  (a) heat-related and  (b) cold-related deaths in the Province in each of the last 20 years.

David Hanson: The following table gives the number of deaths registered in Northern Ireland in each year between 1986 and 2005, where effects of heat and light(1) or hypothermia(2) were mentioned on the death certificate.
	(1 )"Heat" will not be recorded as an underlying cause of death. However heat-related illnesses (e.g., heatstroke, heat cramps, heat exhaustion or heat syncope) may be mentioned on the death certificate. Deaths with a mention of the effects of heat and light are defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 992 for the years 1986-2000 and, for the years 2001 to 2005, the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code T67.
	(2) "Cold" will not be recorded as an underlying cause of death. However subnormal body temperature, hypothermia, may be mentioned on the death certificate. Deaths with a mention of hypothermia are defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 991.6 for the years 1986-2000 and, for the years 2001 to 2005, the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code T68.
	
		
			  Registered number of deaths, with a mention of effect of heat and light or hypothermia. Northern Ireland, 1986 to 2005 
			  Registration year  Effect of heat and light  Hypothermia 
			 1986 — 32 
			 1987 — 16 
			 1988 — 17 
			 1989 — 13 
			 1990 — 14 
			 1991 — 22 
			 1992 — 14 
			 1993 — 14 
			 1994 — 21 
			 1995 — 13 
			 1996 — 16 
			 1997 — 22 
			 1998 — 22 
			 1999 — 12 
			 2000 — 12 
			 2001 — 16 
			 2002 — 14 
			 2003 — 8 
			 2004 1 11 
			 2005(1) — 18 
			 (1) Provisional data

Mesothelioma

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many deaths were registered in Northern Ireland where the underlying cause was recorded as mesothelioma in each year between 2000 and 2005.

David Hanson: The following table gives the number of deaths registered in Northern Ireland in each year between 2000 and 2005 where the underlying cause of death was recorded as mesothelioma(1).
	(1 )International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision code C45 for years 2001-2005 and Ninth Revision codes 158.9 or 163.9 for year 2000.
	
		
			  Registration year  Number of deaths resulting from mesothelioma 
			 2000 37 
			 2001 54 
			 2002 42 
			 2003 46 
			 2004 51 
			 2005(1) 34 
			 (1) Provisional Data

MOT

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average waiting time for an MOT test at each test centre in the Province was in the last period for which figures are available; what the longest time is for which a driver has been waiting for an MOT test at each centre; how many individuals are waiting for MOT tests at each centre; and how many MOT tests were conducted at each centre in each of the last five years.

David Cairns: The average waiting time and the longest waiting time for a vehicle test at each test centre for the week ending 28 October 2006 is as follows.
	
		
			  Days 
			  Centre  Average waiting time  Longest waiting time 
			 Armagh 27 54 
			 Ballymena 16 33 
			 Balmoral 24 56 
			 Coleraine 13 51 
			 Cookstown 27 52 
			 Craigavon 23 49 
			 Downpatrick 17 47 
			 Enniskillen 31 53 
			 Larne 13 38 
			 Lisburn 24 53 
			 Mallusk 17 45 
			 New Buildings 19 37 
			 Newry 36 59 
			 Newtownards 14 54 
			 Omagh 29 52 
			 Northern Ireland 21 59 
		
	
	The number of vehicles awaiting test as at 28 October was 59,117. This information is not maintained at centre level.
	The number of vehicle tests conducted at each centre in each of the last five years is set out as follows.
	
		
			  Centre  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Armagh 19,691 17,007 22,560 16,158 21,524 
			 Ballymena 42,742 28,340 43,583 46,479 42,788 
			 Balmoral 59,954 44,794 58,919 47,194 63,188 
			 Coleraine 28,384 34,049 39,260 41,261 45,121 
			 Cookstown 30,470 35,003 37,047 36,827 41,238 
			 Craigavon 31,833 31,016 36,410 25,182 30,291 
			 Downpatrick 21,538 20,614 29,625 33,412 27,387 
			 Enniskillen 22,993 16,548 25,910 25,648 28,988 
			 Larne 11,852 20,570 25,560 23,002 26,031 
			 Lisburn 22,033 34,578 35,550 26,790 34,724 
			 Mallusk 50,943 61,200 36,644 41,109 49,934 
			 New Buildings 31,431 27,802 35,018 26,585 38,159 
			 Newry 33,326 41,446 30,954 28,410 44,541 
			 Newtownards 50,833 43,390 56,855 56,517 64,286 
			 Omagh 19,240 53,761 19,227 23,444 26,458 
			 Northern Ireland 457,572 498,692 533,122 498,018 584,658 
		
	
	Figures include all vehicle test categories (MOT, PSV and HGV) but exclude re-tests.

A-levels

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 23 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1555W, on A-level mathematics, what assessment he has made of the success of Curriculum 2000 with regards to mathematics.

Jim Knight: Entries for A level mathematics fell with the introduction of Curriculum 2000 largely due to the uneven weighting and level of difficulty in AS maths compared to other subjects. Revisions to address this issue were made to A level mathematics from September 2004. Entries for A level mathematics and Further Mathematics have increased in each of the last two years.

A-levels

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students in the Wantage constituency took  (a) chemistry,  (b) physics and  (c) a modern language at A-level in each year since 1997.

Bill Rammell: Information on the numbers studying A-levels is not available centrally. The information available relates to those entered for examinations. The number of A-level entries by 16 to 18-year-olds in schools located in the Wantage constituency for each requested subject is given in the following table.
	
		
			   Chemistry  Physics  Modern languages 
			 1997 65 47 39 
			 1998 63 62 47 
			 1999 67 54 46 
			 2000 54 61 50 
			 2001 49 60 46 
			 2002 53 46 31 
			 2003 54 50 27 
			 2004 37 36 36 
			 2005 40 52 32 
			 2006(1) 41 47 39 
			 (1) Figures for 2006 are provisional and may be subject to change.  Note: There are five schools with post-16 results located in the Wantage constituency.

Attendance

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of school days lost to pupils as a result of  (a) underage drinking,  (b) drug and  (c) substance abuse in Copeland in the last 12 months.

Jim Knight: The Department does not collect data on absence that is due to underage drinking, drug and substance abuse.

Biometric Technology

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the uses for which biometric technologies are used in schools.

Jim Knight: The department does not keep a list of the uses of biometric technologies in schools. However I am aware that some schools use biometric technologies for recording the attendance and registration of pupils, and for access to school services such as libraries and school meals.

Building Schools for the Future

Ken Purchase: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what criteria he uses to decide which local education authorities will be included in early phases of the Building Schools for the Future programme.

Jim Knight: Building Schools for the Future aims to provide 21(st) century facilities for all secondary pupils over the long term. In line with this Government's priorities, we have started with those schools with poorest educational standards and highest social need, where we think the investment can have greatest impact. We chose projects in waves 1 to 3 of Building Schools for the Future using the following published criteria. We selected wave 1 projects by:
	ranking local authority proposals according to the data on standards and deprivation across the schools in the proposed geographical area;
	assessing whether the strategic proposals were appropriate to address the educational issues of the schools in the area and whether the capital investment would reinforce action/plans/strategies in place for school improvement;
	assessing whether the local authority had the capacity to deliver such a large procurement;
	assessing the total value of all the proposals with reference to the available budget; and
	checking the overall package of proposals to ensure regional market capacity, deliverability and value for money.
	We selected wave 2 and 3 projects from local authorities' expressions of interest according to:
	relative educational and social need, as measured by pupils' GCSE attainment and eligibility for free school meals; and
	the phasing and financial requirements of school buildings across the whole programme.
	Wolverhampton's secondary schools are due to be included in a project in waves 4 to 6. We will announce which wave by the end of the year.

Community Cohesion

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how schools will be assessed on the promotion of community cohesion; and what steps will be taken in respect of schools which do not reach the required standards.

Jim Knight: Subject to the passage of the Education and Inspections Bill which is currently before Parliament, a duty will be placed on the governing bodies of maintained schools to promote community cohesion. This will be accompanied by a duty on the Chief Inspector of Schools to report, as part of routine school inspections, on the contribution made by schools in this respect. Inspectors will judge this by assessing the extent to which learners contribute to community cohesion and the effectiveness of the links made by the school with other providers, services, employers and other organisations to promote well-being and community cohesion. Where inspectors identify underperformance, they will make recommendations on which the school will be expected to respond. School Improvement Partners will challenge and support the school in making any necessary improvements and parents will be informed about progress through the School Profile. Where the underperformance extends to other aspects of the school's work, there may be circumstances in which inspectors return to monitor the school's progress in securing improvement.

Creationism

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations his Department has received on the teaching of creationism in schools.

Jim Knight: The Department regularly receives correspondence about the teaching of creationism in schools. Most express concern about the possibility that creationism could be taught in the science curriculum.
	The Government's view are that creationism is not a recognised scientific theory and should not be taught in the science curriculum. There are, however, opportunities to discuss it in Religious Education, where pupils learn about different beliefs and faiths.

Faith Schools

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance his Department has issued to schools on permissible tests of religious observance in their admissions processes.

Jim Knight: Guidance on school admissions for all maintained schools, including schools with a religious character, is contained in the School Admissions Code of Practice published in 2003.
	The new School Admissions Code, subject to parliamentary approval, will come into force in February 2007 and supersede the existing Code of Practice. The draft code, on which we are currently consulting, contains detailed guidelines to faith schools on determining fair and equitable admission arrangements including faith based oversubscription criteria and determining religious observance.

FE Budget

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the  (a) total budget and  (b) budget per pupil was at 2006 prices for further education in each of the last 20 years.

Bill Rammell: The Government have increased total investment in further education for participation and other FE expenditure by 48 per cent. in real terms between 1997 and 2005.
	The participation expenditure for further education and the participation unit of funding per full-time equivalent student in each year from 1997-98 to 2007-08 are provided in the following tables. The figures for 2005-06 reflect plans as outturn is not yet known on unit funding.
	
		
			  Table 1: Further education participation expenditure (cash) 
			   Total FE participation( 1)  (£ million) 
			  Actual  
			 1997-98 3,131.4 
			 1998-99 3,101.6 
			 1999-2000 3,216.4 
			 2000-01 3,311.0 
			 2001-02 3,643.8 
			 2002-03 3,823.2 
			 2003-04 4,274.3 
			 2004-05 4,323.9 
			   
			  Planned  
			 2005-06 4,871.8 
			 2006-07 4,949.2 
			 2007-08 5,101.9 
			 (1) FE participation funding excludes funding for colleges for other types of participation, raising standards, capacity building and capital. These are included in total FE funding, eg when calculating the 48 per cent. increase in overall FE funding.   Note: Participation figures shown include some targeted funds (Teachers' Pension Scheme, Teachers' Pay Initiative and some Standards Fund resources) which were consolidated in 2003-04; and LSC funding for learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. They do not include UfI/Learndirect or Personal Community Development/Adult Community Learning. 
		
	
	Prior to 2001-02, the figures quoted represent expenditure by the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC), and we cannot disaggregate at a lower level than this, therefore these figures may include some administration and non-participation costs.
	
		
			  Table 2: FE participation unit of funding per full-time equivalent student 
			   Funding for participation (cash) (£)  Real terms index 
			  Actual   
			 1997-98 (1)3,070 100 
			 1998-99 3,090 98 
			 1999-2000 (2)3,290 102 
			 2000-01 3,470 107 
			 2001-02 (3)3,810 114 
			 2002-03 3,940 115 
			 2003-04(4) 4,360 124 
			 2003-04(4) 4,310 100 
			
			  Provisional   
			 2004-05 4,320 98 
			
			  Planned   
			 2005-06 4,890 109 
			 2006-07 4,970 108 
			 2007-08 5,160 109 
			 (1) 1997-98 only, includes assumed additional employer contributions.  (2) From 1999/2000 onwards, excludes 18,500 FTE Higher National Certificate/Diploma students and associated funding which was transferred to HEFCE.  (3) From 2001-02 onwards, includes funding for Teacher Pay Initiative, Teachers' Pension Scheme, and some Standards Funds resources.  (4) A technical change to the measurement of FTEs in 2003-04 means that there is a break in the series. This does not effect total funding, but does result in a larger estimate of FTEs, and so a small reduction in the unit funding estimate. Both figures are available for 2003-04 as shown to indicate the difference. It also means that the real terms index must be re-based in 2003-04 and a separate series shown from this point onwards. 
		
	
	Unit funding per full time equivalent (FTE) in further education between 1997-98 and 2005-06 in real terms is provided in the table above, with the real terms index, based with 1997-98 as 100. This information is based on the departmental annual report 2006 (DAR 2006) and all other footnotes from the version of this table in DAR 2006 also apply.
	The change in figures for 2003-04 does not represent a reduction in unit costs. Instead it represents a change in the method of measuring FTE, meaning that learners are counted from October rather than November.

Healthcare Education

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what information his Department collects on  (a) capital spending in teaching facilities for nursing and other healthcare courses and  (b) spending on training lecturers in nursing and healthcare by universities in England since 1997.

Bill Rammell: On  (a) the Department has access to data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) on depreciation, including depreciation on capitalised equipment (but not buildings), by subject area. For nursing and paramedical studies in publicly-funded higher education institutions in England the figures are set out in table 1.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			  Academic year  Depreciation (£000) 
			 1997-98 1,809 
			 1998-99 2,184 
			 1999-2000 2,519 
			 2000-01 2,560 
			 2001-02 2,946 
			 2002-03 3,069 
			 2003-04 3,174 
			 2004-05 4,819 
			  Source: HESA Finance Statistics Return, Table 6, Cost centre 5 
		
	
	HESA figures for overall capital expenditure on non-residential and non-catering operations in publicly-funded higher education institutions in England do not distinguish subject areas but they do show expenditure on buildings and equipment. The figures are set out in table 2.
	
		
			  Table 2 
			  £000 
			  Academic year  Buildings  Equipment 
			 1997-98 515,467 209,096 
			 1998-99 658,096 230,516 
			 1999-2000 625,329 236,013 
			 2000-01 794,821 283,845 
			 2001-02 911,406 311,848 
			 2002-03 1,336,481 364,670 
			 2003-04 1,284,902 335,640 
			 2004-05 1,388,071 393,612 
			  Source: HESA Finance Statistics Return, Table 7, Head 2 
		
	
	On  (b) the Department has access to data on staff costs by subject area but the figures do not distinguish staff training costs. The costs for nursing and paramedical studies in publicly-funded higher education institutions in England are set out in table 3.
	
		
			  Table 3 
			  £000 
			  Academic year  Academic staff costs  Other staff costs 
			 1997-98 148,568 42,110 
			 1998-99 166,019 50,156 
			 1999-2000 177,679 51,393 
			 2000-01 190,583 58,177 
			 2001-02 200,690 59,573 
			 2002-03 222,153 63,941 
			 2003-04 245,733 73,325 
			 2004-05 265,668 80,843 
			  Source: HESA Finance Statistics Return, Table 6, Cost centre 5

Higher Education Institutions

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which public bodies for which he is responsible are involved in the  (a) regulation,  (b) funding and  (c) administration of higher education institutions; and what the (i) annual budget and (ii) total staff numbers are of each.

Bill Rammell: There are five different bodies involved. The budgets allocated to each body cover all of their activities, including both programme funds, which consumes the overwhelming proportion and their administrative running costs.
	The principal funding body for higher education institutions is the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). HEFCE funding for HE institutions includes resources for the management and administration by the institutions themselves. The budget HEFCE was allocated for 2006-07 was £6,564 million and the current staffing complement is 245 full-time equivalent.
	The Training and Development Agency for Schools (IDA) provides funding to higher education institutions for a number of activities to support the agency's objectives, in particular for initial teacher training. The budget allocated for the agency for 2006-07 was £717.1 million and the current staffing complement is 322 full-time equivalent.
	Only a very small proportion of the budget or staff of the remaining three bodies, Ofsted, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and the Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI), either funds HE institutions or funds activity to regulate them.
	The total budget allocated for Ofsted for 2006-07 was £204 million and it has 2,100 staff. The budget allocated to the LSC for 2006-07 was £10,458 million for 4,085 staff. The LSC is currently undertaking a radical restructuring exercise designed to streamline the existing organisation at both national and local level, which is expected to lead to significant savings in running costs.
	ALI's inspection remit, including that which affects the regulation and administration of HE institutions, will be taken over by new Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills from April 2007, but the total budget they were allocated for 2006-07 was £24 million, with 221 staff.
	We closely monitor all of these bodies to ensure their running costs are kept to the minimum consistent with cost effective operation—and require them to minimise the regulatory burden they impose on HE institutions.
	In addition, the Higher Education Regulation Review Group (HERRG) has recently been reappointed for a further two year period; HERRG is the independent gatekeeper group for higher education. It is comprised of senior managers and administrators from HE institutions, with an independent chair, and works with Government Departments and their agencies to review all the bureaucratic demands they make on HE institutions, to help ensure these are the minimum consistent with effective accountability.

Literacy

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which 10 local education authorities have the poorest levels of literacy for those aged  (a) five,  (b) 11 and  (c) 16 years.

Jim Knight: The information requested is set out as follows:
	 (a) 5-year-olds
	The available information for the "Communication, Language and Literacy" area of learning is shown in the following table. Local authority figures for 2005 were published as an annex (Table B) to the final Statistical First Release "Foundation Stage Profile: 2005 National Results" (SFR 03/2006) in February 2006.
	
		
			  The lowest 10 attaining local authorities by percentage of children working securely( 1,2)  within the Early Learning Goals in the communication, language and literacy area of learning—2005 
			   Percentage 
			  Language for communication and thinking  
			  Reading  
			  Writing  
			 Barking and Dagenham 46 
			 Slough 59 
			 Middlesbrough 63 
			 Leicester 63 
			 Hartlepool 65 
			 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 67 
			 Greenwich 67 
			 Rotherham 68 
			 Tower Hamlets 68 
			 Torbay 69 
			   
			  Linking sounds and letters  
			 Barking and Dagenham 28 
			 Middlesbrough 43 
			 Leicester 43 
			 Greenwich 43 
			 Nottingham 43 
			 Waltham Forest 44 
			 Lewisham 46 
			 Luton 46 
			 Newham 50 
			 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 51 
			   
			 Barking and Dagenham 44 
			 Middlesbrough 48 
			 Leicester 48 
			 Greenwich 52 
			 Hartlepool 56 
			 Waltham Forest 57 
			 Newham 57 
			 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 57 
			 Lewisham 58 
			 Slough 58 
			   
			 Barking and Dagenham 28 
			 Middlesbrough 39 
			 Leicester 41 
			 North Somerset 41 
			 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 43 
			 Greenwich 44 
			 Southampton 45 
			 Luton 45 
			 Reading 47 
			 Medway 47 
			 (1 )Care should be taken when comparing the relative attainment levels between local authorities because of the unequal impact of moderation and assessment on the figures.  (2 )A scale score of six or more indicates that a child is working securely within the Early Learning Goals. 
		
	
	The provisional national figures for 2006 recently published on 26 October 2006 in Statistical First Release "Foundation Stage Profile 2006: National Results 2006 (Provisional)" (SFR42/2006) suggest that improvements in assessments and moderation may still be impacting widely on the results across the country. Final local authority data are expected to be published in January.
	 (b) 11-year-olds
	National Curriculum assessments at key stage 2 were published on 24 August 2006 (SFR31/2006). The following table shows the percentage of pupils achieving the target level 4 in English in the 10 lowest ranking local authorities.
	
		
			  Provisional key stage 2 National Curriculum test results—2006 
			  LA name  Percentage of pupils achieving Level 4+ English 
			 City of London 64 
			 Hackney 70 
			 Nottingham City 70 
			 Leicester City 71 
			 Manchester 72 
			 Barnsley 72 
			 Sheffield 72 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 72 
			 City of Bristol 73 
			 City of Kingston upon Hull 73 
			 England all schools 79 
		
	
	 (c ) 16-year-olds
	The following table shows provisional figures for the percentage of 16 year old pupils achieving a grade A*- C in GCSE English in 2006.
	
		
			  Provisional GCSE results—2006 
			  LA name  Percentage of 16 year olds achieving grades A* to C in GCSE English 
			 Knowsley 36.6 
			 City of Kingston upon Hull 38.9 
			 Nottingham City 39.9 
			 Middlesbrough 40.9 
			 Manchester 42.2 
			 Sandwell 43.4 
			 City of Bristol 43.6 
			 Portsmouth 43.7 
			 Tower Hamlets 44.6 
			 Walsall 45.1 
			 England all schools key stage 4 59

Physical Education Teachers

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many black and ethnic minority teachers participated in physical education teacher training courses in each of the last five years; and how many black and ethnic minority teachers teach physical education in  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools.

Jim Knight: The table provides the number of teachers from black and other ethnic minorities who have participated in teacher training courses with physical education as one of their subject specialisations in each academic year from 2000/01 to 2004/05, the latest year for which figures are available. The figures are for teachers who have trained to teach in secondary schools only. Primary school trainee teachers are trained in all subjects of national curriculum including physical education.
	Information on the number of black and ethnic minority teachers teaching by subject area is not collected centrally.
	
		
			  Teachers on teacher training courses in England with physical education as a subject specialisation, 2000/01 to 2004/05 
			  Academic year of qualification  Total  Of which: black and ethnic minorities  Percentage 
			 2000/01 1,160 20 2.0 
			 2001/02 1,330 40 2.7 
			 2002/03 1,320 30 2.4 
			 2003/04 1,700 50 3.2 
			 2004/05 1,870 70 3.8 
			  Notes:1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10.2. The figures exclude teachers on employment based routes to qualified teacher status. Source:Training and Development Agency's Performance Profiles 
		
	
	Black and ethnic minorities include the following categories:
	Black or black British—Caribbean
	Black or black British—African
	Other black background
	Asian or Asian British—Indian
	Asian or Asian British—Pakistani
	Asian or Asian British—Bangladeshi
	Chinese or other ethnic background—Chinese
	Other Asian background
	Mixed—white and black Caribbean
	Mixed—white and black African
	Mixed—white and Asian
	Other mixed background
	Other ethnic background

Qualification and Curriculum Authority

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 20 July 2006,  Official Report, column 649W, on Qualification and Curriculum Authority (QCA), what the reasons were for the increase in QCA's annual spending since 2001.

Jim Knight: The size of the QCA's remit has increased substantially since 2001, and this is reflected in the increase on the authority's budget. Additional work over this period includes modernising the examinations system and the development of key stage 3 ICT and key and basic skills tests.

School Sport

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools are in a school sport partnership; and how many schools responded to his Department's recent survey on school sport.

Jim Knight: Since September 2006, all maintained schools in England have been within a school sport partnership. When data was collected for the 2005/06 school sport survey (in the summer term of 2006) 17,122 schools were within a partnership. By the survey deadline a total of 16,882 useable responses had been received. This represents a 99 per cent. response rate. The survey is the largest of its kind in Europe.

School Sport

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of schoolchildren took part in inter-school sports competitions in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by local education authority area.

Jim Knight: The 2005/06 School Sport Survey found that, overall, 37 per cent. of pupils in schools within a school sport partnership took part in inter-school sports competitions during the last academic year—a 6 per cent. rise on 2004/05. The following table sets out the percentage of pupils in each local authority area taking part in inter-school sports competitions during the academic year 2005/06. Direct comparisons between local authority areas are not appropriate as the number of schools in school sport partnerships, and the length of time they have been within partnerships, differs. The results only report on pupils who attend schools within school sport partnerships.
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 Barking and Dagenham 30 
			 Barnet 37 
			 Barnsley 36 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 40 
			 Bedfordshire 38 
			 Bexley 37 
			 Birmingham 31 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 33 
			 Blackpool 41 
			 Bolton 38 
			 Bournemouth 32 
			 Bracknell Forest 35 
			 Bradford 32 
			 Brent 31 
			 Brighton and Hove 41 
			 Bristol City of 33 
			 Bromley 36 
			 Buckinghamshire 43 
			 Bury 44 
			 Calderdale 42 
			 Cambridgeshire 43 
			 Camden 36 
			 City of London 42 
			 Cornwall 43 
			 Coventry 35 
			 Croydon 36 
			 Cumbria 44 
			 Darlington 32 
			 Derby 34 
			 Derbyshire 35 
			 Devon 43 
			 Doncaster 35 
			 Dorset 43 
			 Dudley 34 
			 Durham 45 
			 Ealing 40 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 38 
			 East Sussex 42 
			 Enfield 31 
			 Essex 37 
			 Gateshead 42 
			 Gloucestershire 42 
			 Greenwich 30 
			 Hackney 33 
			 Halton 44 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 31 
			 Hampshire 36 
			 Haringey 31 
			 Harrow 35 
			 Hartlepool 41 
			 Havering 33 
			 Herefordshire 47 
			 Hertfordshire 45 
			 Hillingdon 32 
			 Hounslow 37 
			 Isle of Wight 41 
			 Isles of Scilly 25 
			 Islington 33 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 46 
			 Kent 36 
			 Kingston upon Hull, City of 34 
			 Kingston upon Thames 34 
			 Kirklees 37 
			 Knowsley 40 
			 Lambeth 39 
			 Lancashire 39 
			 Leeds 38 
			 Leicester 25 
			 Leicestershire 37 
			 Lewisham 28 
			 Lincolnshire 36 
			 Liverpool 34 
			 Luton 33 
			 Manchester 33 
			 Medway Towns 30 
			 Merton 40 
			 Middlesbrough 40 
			 Milton Keynes 37 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 41 
			 Newham 33 
			 Norfolk 35 
			 North East Lincolnshire 33 
			 North Lincolnshire 50 
			 North Somerset 39 
			 North Tyneside 40 
			 North Yorkshire 41 
			 Northamptonshire 36 
			 Northumberland 44 
			 Nottingham 35 
			 Nottinghamshire 36 
			 Oldham 42 
			 Oxfordshire 38 
			 Peterborough 40 
			 Peterborough 43 
			 Plymouth 38 
			 Poole 32 
			 Portsmouth 30 
			 Reading 31 
			 Redbridge 36 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 38 
			 Richmond upon Thames 41 
			 Rochdale 39 
			 Rotherham 38 
			 Rutland 49 
			 Salford 33 
			 Sandwell 34 
			 Sefton 39 
			 Sheffield 37 
			 Shropshire 44 
			 Slough 35 
			 Solihull 47 
			 Somerset 40 
			 South Gloucestershire 33 
			 South Tyneside 38 
			 Southampton 23 
			 Southend-on-Sea 44 
			 Southwark 29 
			 St. Helens 36 
			 Staffordshire 41 
			 Stockport 35 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 45 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 36 
			 Suffolk 38 
			 Sunderland 36 
			 Surrey 35 
			 Sutton 39 
			 Tameside 38 
			 Telford and Wrekin 38 
			 Thurrock 30 
			 Torbay 42 
			 Tower Hamlets 38 
			 Trafford 33 
			 Wakefield 40 
			 Walsall 32 
			 Waltham Forest 36 
			 Wandsworth 37 
			 Warrington 36 
			 Warwickshire 39 
			 West Berkshire 39 
			 West Sussex 34 
			 Westminster 32 
			 Wigan 44 
			 Wiltshire 44 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 42 
			 Wirral 35 
			 Wokingham 32 
			 Wolverhampton 37 
			 Worcestershire 41 
			 York 38

School Sports

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor on his pledges  (a) to have a sports day in every school,  (b) to offer after-school sport and links with a range of local sports clubs in every school and  (c) to ensure access to playing fields for every school; when he expects to implement these pledges; and what his estimate is of the financial resources required to do so;
	(2)  what representations his Department has received on the statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer of 25 October 2004 that school sport holds the key to a fitter nation.

Jim Knight: holding answers 30 October 2006
	My officials and I have regular discussions with the Treasury to discuss PE and sport. Our overall aim, a joint DfES/DCMS public service agreement target, is to increase the percentage of 5 to16-year-olds who take part in at least two hours high quality PE and school sport each week to 75 per cent. by 2006 and 85 per cent. by 2008. By 2010, we want to offer all children four hours of sport a week. We are investing over £1.5 billion in the five years to 2008 to transform PE and school sport.
	We have already exceeded the 2006 target. The 2005/06 school sport survey found that 80 per cent. of pupils in the 16,880 schools which took part in the survey were doing at least two hours. This is an increase of 29 per cent. on 2003/04. The survey found that almost all schools (97 per cent.) hold a competitive sports day and the percentage of years 2-11 pupils participating in sports clubs linked to their schools has increased from 22 per cent. in 2003/04 to 27 per cent. this year. Copies of the results of the survey have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
	We currently have in place the strongest ever protection of school playing fields and, for the second year running, the number of new playing fields created has been greater than the number sold off.

Schools (Liverpool)

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total number of school closures has been in each Liverpool constituency in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The numbers of maintained schools closed in Liverpool, by parliamentary constituency, in the last five years are as follow:
	
		
			  Year closed  Annual total 
			  Liverpool Garston  
			 2001 6 
			 2002 3 
			 2003 1 
			 2004 1 
			 Grand total 11 
			   
			  Liverpool Riverside  
			 2003 4 
			 2004 5 
			 2005 2 
			 2006 1 
			 Grand total 12 
			   
			  Liverpool Walton  
			 2001 2 
			 2002 4 
			 2003 3 
			 2004 3 
			 2006 3 
			 Grand Total 15 
			   
			  Liverpool Wavertree  
			 2002 1 
			 2003 1 
			 2004 1 
			 Grand total 3 
			   
			  Liverpool West Derby  
			 2001 4 
			 2002 7 
			 2003 3 
			 2004 3 
			 Grand total 17 
			  Notes:  1. The figures include schools that closed as a result of the amalgamation or merger of two or more schools; schools that have closed but re-opened as voluntary schools with a religious character; and schools that have closed in local education authorities that have moved from a three-tier to a two-tier system.  2. The figures are for maintained schools inclusive of special schools, but exclusive of local authority nursery schools. However, for information, there was only one such closure in 2003 in Liverpool Wavertree   Source:  DfES

Schools (Liverpool)

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the excess capacity has been in schools in each Liverpool constituency in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: The table shows the latest available information on excess capacity in (a) secondary, and (b) primary schools in each of the following constituencies. Data was not collected in 2002.
	
		
			  Constituency  2001  2003  2004  2005 
			  Secondary surplus 
			 Liverpool Garston 594 532 550 614 
			 Liverpool Riverside 693 320 381 523 
			 Liverpool Walton 823 627 803 898 
			 Liverpool Wavertree 250 137 227 205 
			 Liverpool W. Derby 625 593 878 921 
			  
			  Primary surplus 
			 Liverpool Garston 770 1,318 1,131 847 
			 Liverpool Riverside 1,511 1,256 962 925 
			 Liverpool Walton 904 1,154 734 891 
			 Liverpool Wavertree 892 719 745 855 
			 Liverpool W. Derby 919 1481 1,139 1,202

SEN

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  if he will provide funding for local authorities to increase the number of collaborative arrangements in which communities of schools work together to provide services for children with special educational needs;
	(2)  what steps he has taken in response to evidence from Ofsted that funding delegated to schools for meeting special educational needs of children has been used for other priorities in schools;
	(3)  if he will take steps to ring-fence funding delegated to schools to meet the special educational needs of children;
	(4)  if he will take steps to provide for a major increase in the funding of special educational needs in each of the next five years.

Parmjit Dhanda: All pupils, including those with SEN, are benefiting from the significant increases in investment in education funding under this Government. Total revenue funding per pupil has increased nationally by £1,440 in real terms between 1997-98 and 2006-07. By 2007-08 the increase over 1997-98 will have reached over £1,630 per pupil in real terms. More resources are going into schools to support children with SEN—LA indicative figures show spending rising from £3.5 billion in 2003-04 to over £4.5 billion in 2006-07.
	The school funding settlement for 2006-08 provides a national average increase in the dedicated schools grant of 6.8 per cent. per pupil this year (compared with authorities' spending in 2005-06) and a further increase of 6.7 per cent. per pupil for 2007-08. The settlement gives schools everywhere the secure and predictable base they need to deliver a wider and more personalised offer to all their pupils. Decisions on funding for subsequent years will be dependent upon the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR07).
	DSG is a ring-fenced grant. It is paid to local authorities, who must use it for the purposes of their schools budget. It is for each local authority to distribute funding to its schools using its locally agreed formula, and it is for schools' governing bodies to decide how to spend their available resources. We believe that schools are best placed to make decisions about support arrangements for pupils experiencing barriers to their learning. They can intervene early and make effective arrangements promptly and flexibly, within the whole school context.
	The Education Act 1996 states that schools must use their best endeavours to make suitable provision for all pupils with SEN. For children with statements, LAs, in partnership with schools, must ensure that the provision specified in the statement can be delivered. The annual review ensures that the continued effectiveness of the statement is monitored and evaluated at least annually.
	The SEN code of practice provides detailed guidance to schools and LAs on their respective responsibilities. In addition, the "Special Educational Needs (Provision of Information by LEAs) (England) Regulations 2001", require LAs to set out what they expect schools to provide from their budgets for children with SEN but without statements and what LAs expect to provide themselves.
	The Department's 2004 guidance "The Management of SEN Expenditure" recommended the accountability arrangements that should be in place in order to secure positive outcomes for children with special educational needs. The guidance proposed a framework covering: school information and performance data; school self-evaluation; evaluation meetings and accountability to parents.
	All schools are required to complete a self-evaluation form (SEF), drawing on improved data and supported by inspection, to identify areas where there is a need to improve performance. School improvement partners (SIPs) will challenge and support schools. The focus on a continuing cycle of school improvement should ensure that the progress of all children is kept under review and they receive appropriate support.
	Collaboration is proving to be a very effective way of addressing school improvement, teaching and learning, and other organisational issues. SEN is certainly one area that can benefit from a partnership approach of both schools and possibly other organisations. However, we believe that schools must have the freedom to make spending decisions and to decide whether they take part in partnership activity, based on their specific local needs. For this reason, from April 2006 the majority of funding to support collaborative work now goes directly to schools as part of their school development grant. The way schools decide to use this funding is therefore a matter for local decision.

Sex Education

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on sex education; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Department has not commissioned any research on sex and relationship education (SRE) but we have reflected the available evidence base in guidance given to schools.
	Ofsted is responsible for assessing the quality of school's provision in the area of personal, social and health education including SRE through its inspection framework and subject reports.
	All schools are expected to meet the statutory requirements for sex education and have an up-to-date policy on SRE. This policy should set out the process by which a school will assess how well its provision is meeting the needs of pupils.